It’s very sad to write about my nation being anti-Semitic, but people need to face the truth. Therefore, I’ll keep discussing Antisemitism as I do on my podcasts so that this hateful conduct and thoughts will disappear from this planet. The acts of Antisemitism aren’t just about a person committing hate. Hateful crimes are terrible deeds. However, it goes beyond the individual level.
Antisemitism has been applied to systematic mass murder throughout history against the Jewish people. I’m very disappointed at the fact that the opinions that come out of Japan on broadcasting are from the mindset, “It’s okay to talk about Israel in a sense I want to talk about.” If I don’t ask rude questions face to face, it’s Okay to say something that “seems” more objectively on a broadcasting service.
The truth is …
This isn’t objective as an act, at all. There is no room for reasoning when it comes to showing hateful emotions. How would you feel if you were to do the same thing? I used analogy over and over on my podcast, exemplifying Japan as an isolated nation geologically, asking the audience, “How would you feel if it were you?”
When October 7th happened, it was truly shocking to even think about it. Time had stopped. Probably, it was something I will never forget as a part of my life. I exchanged words with relatives of the victims, and they were saying that I should not watch what happened. It was such a huge dilemma for a while for me to talk about the actual victims. If they’re hurt, do they want to be left quietly? Or, do they want to speak?
Hamas? What, on earth, is good about Hamas? Hamas resistance? How?
I wondered what to ask people … It was beyond the sadness that I experienced.
It’s not easy to ask questions when people have to talk about something very traumatic. It’s a very sensitive matter, and I really have to care about people whom I ask for an interview on Podcasts.
In my opinion, the Japanese news media have always liked to politicize the military campaigns by the United States and Israel. The Japanese media broadcasting networks have liked to talk about Israel as if Israel owned the United States. News media don’t necessarily represent the people of Japan, but Antisemitic spews on Israel and the Jewish people have always existed in Japan.
They always claim, “The United States has been covering up the ‘mess’ of the United States, and ‘the Japan’ wasn’t the problem.” Unlike Japan, Jewish people have always been the victims of Antisemitism, not just during the Holocaust. The history of Antisemitism goes back thousands of years.
I’m not generalizing and discussing the Japanese and the Israelis at the same level.
When it comes to Israeli people or Jewish people, the Holocaust is not just a part of world history. It was a matter of their families, friends … I’m very thankful to people who share their families’ stories and backgrounds on my podcasts. Antisemitism has been a systematic murder machine for centuries against the Jewish people because of the religion and culture that they share.
I didn’t take “‘others’ Antisemitism” very seriously for a long time. At the personal level, I felt that if I took it seriously in my thoughts, I didn’t have to talk about Antisemitism to others. It was all a private part of my life, as the first Jewish person I had met was almost like my grandfather. I had met him when I was two years old.
However, my understanding of Antisemitism has never changed. Antisemitism was also an act against humanity to discriminate against others based on their creeds and religions.
I often use analogies and talk about Israel or Zionism. If you were told “You’re not subhuman” by an individual, how do you feel? If a nation decides that the Jewish population doesn’t deserve to live because of their religion and shared customs and culture, how do you feel? Is it a matter of others?
At the very bottom line, putting someone in one’s shoes isn’t enough when it comes to calling an individual subhuman for centuries. This isn’t the problem the Japanese have faced.
After watching and assessing the emotional level of the Japanese media after October 7th, I started to have serious doubts about the journalists as individuals, not just as those who belong to an organization.
Facts started to matter to me. What kind of facts are they discussing, and saying all these general opinions?
Can they seriously say all these terrible things to Israel, which faced the October 7th terror attack, and discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu as the problem of Israel? Is Hamas resilient, and are they resisting against tyranny, as some journalists describe? What about PLO? Arafat? Zionism? What about the “genocide” allegations by Israel, as some journalists discuss with baseless facts?
Is it “all” about Israel forcing military and persecuting the Palestinians? If they were not to take sides, why are they ignoring Israel and the victims of October 7th?
The level of criticism is not objective, but seems to include some “hateful” emotions. I think I’ll keep discussing this, as this Antisemitism in people’s minds shouldn’t be ignored. These hateful acts must not exist in society as a whole.
Then, I wonder why they show emotions and speak about Israel during the broadcast as if they had the right to “judge” everything. Are these Antisemitic spews that Israeli people may ignore because of the history?
My first book was about my close acquaintance who designed and created wooden tops and toys. He had been invited to 37 countries and had privileged status, such as honorary citizenship from Seattle and Fort Lee. However, when you look back on his life, it was not always the best time that he had gone through. He was brought up during WWII, as a primary school child, when Imperial Japan was forcing children to learn militarism at school.
Living under harsh Imperialism and militarism left many Japanese children with traumas. I was very nervous when I was writing about my first book, as it was not always about the best part of my life. I had to ask many questions that my acquaintance had to answer with pain in his heart. He had to go back 60 years to talk about his life. It took time to remember how he felt.
Or…, was it something else?
Overall, though, it was a meaningful experience for me to reflect on the importance of facing the facts and also think about it myself, not just copy others’ opinions. I felt I knew the person, as I had spoken with him for over two decades.
I’d like to keep discussions on Antisemitism based on the facts brought up by the news media in detail on Substack.
Facts matter. History is based on the countless numbers of facts and theories that apply.
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