A small Korean “online newspaper” known as the Daily Journal went viral in Japan this week after an article berating Japan for a variety of issues from the Comfort Women to whaling. The article further claimed that earthquakes were a form of divine punishment. While this was not well-received, let’s not forget that good old Ishihara Shintaro, former mayor of Tokyo, was the first to suggest that the gods were not on Japan’s side.
But what really provoked netizens was the suggestion that Japan should send Princess Kako, who is now a twenty-year old university student, as a Comfort Woman. Cue unabashed Korea bashing.
But as one thoughtful Yahoo! commenter points out, netizens need to be careful not to conflate the opinion of one man on a small website in search of Internet traffic with the opinions of an entire nation…
From JCAST.com:
Princess Kako “Has To Become A Comfort Woman”: Korean Online Newspaper Makes Another Preposterous Remark
A Korean online newspaper has caused a stir after posting unthinkable remarks about Japan in a column. The writer of this column is a man who faced severe criticism even back in 2012, when he claimed that “Following this earthquake, Japan will face further divine punishment”, and in this new column he claims that Princess Kako, the second daughter of Prince Akishino, “should be sent to be a comfort woman”.
It is difficult to understand the reasoning behind the author’s claims, even after reading the article, and on the whole it is illogical, but it seems there are those who see the article as having “overstepped the line” as regards criticisms toward Japan.
Author’s Opinion Is That “Japan’s Extinction Will Be Divine Punishment”
The column was uploaded to the online newspaper “Daily Journal” on May 15, under the name of editor Cheon Chae-hak, with the title “As Dolphin Prophecy Shows, There Will Be No Tokyo Olympics In Japan In 2020”. According to the about section on the company’s website, the “Daily Journal” was founded in 2012, and is based in Seoul and in Kwangyang, in the south-west of South Cheolla.
According to the column, the writer is of the opinion that “Japan’s extinction will be divine punishment”. He points to the mass stranding and consequent deaths of dolphins and whales prior to the Tohoku Earthquake and the New Zealand Earthquake, and compares this with the mass stranding of 160 dolphins that happened off the coast of Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, on April 10, 2015, claiming that “The dolphins foretell of a massive earthquake heading for Japan”.
Does The Author Mean To Link The Whaling Problem To The Issue Over The Comfort Women?
Immediately after mentioning the dolphins, the argument switches to the so-called issue of forced military prostitution, with the author claiming that Japanese people acknowledge the former Comfort Women as “prostitutes, and women who experienced the war”. Therefore, he says “The divine punishment will be applicable to the whole of Japan”. What’s more, he advocates this. It’s not really clear what the author’s intention is here, but it appears that he means to link the whaling problem to the issue over the Comfort Women.
Immediately following this statement, for some reason he then makes reference to Princess Kako. Here too, it is difficult to understand the gist of his argument; there is virtually no logic as to why he says “they should send her [Princess Kako] as a Comfort Woman”.
Given the opportunity, there’s nothing for it but to send Princess Kako of the Japanese Imperial Household as a Comfort Woman”.
In the final part of the column, the author says “We need an earthquake of magnitude 10 to sink the Japanese archipelago”, and wishes for the annihilation of Japan, and makes his own personal prediction that in 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held, “Japan will have already disappeared from the face of the earth”.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
石渡嶺司 [University journalist]:
At ICU, the school attended by Princess Kako, who is being targeted in this article, courses in peace, gender, and Asian research are held as common subjects across the entire university.
Of these courses, the “Peace Studies” syllabus says, “This course investigates possibilities for new methodologies in sociology and pacifism, considering our understanding of peace studies up to this point, and building on a level understanding of the realities of modern societies, where there is still war, poverty, and oppression.”
I hope, at least, that the two Korean exchange students that have been accepted at ICU are taking this kind of course.
And such courses are not just held at ICU, but at many universities throughout Japan.
If Korean exchange students in Japan who learn not only how these preposterous remarks, but also various other types of Korean claims, damage the dignity of their nation, increase in number, then wouldn’t that go some way toward improving Japan-Korea relations?
篠原 修司 IT writer:
We shouldn’t take as true each and every thing that the online media says.The article says that the Daily Journal is an “online newspaper”, but after a bit of investigation, the site is quite small with only about 3,000 visitors per month. I suppose that given the site has small numbers of vistors that they don’t make much from the advertising fees, and that’s why they went with an anti- Japan article. (And that way if the article becomes popular, they can make money on the advertising).
If you were to switch the positions of Japan and Korea in this incident, it’s the kind of thing where the Choson Ilbo, a major Korean newspaper, would be dealing with an article written by some anti-Korean blog in Japan making a fool out of Korea.
shi*****:
There is no hate greater than this. Isn’t the UN going to do anything about it?
元気なおっさん:
This is a real problem, that makes us question their humanity.
dc:
Well, this is a great article where you can really see that when a people a bred through incest, there will inherently be faults in their DNA.
ういっす:
He really has completely crossed the line.
アポロ69（space196970）
These remarks against our Imperial Family are unforgivable.
I.Xperia.:
There is no greater insult than this. No, it’s actually an act of violence. I think it would be best if the UN acted on this.
lop*****:
They just have no dignity, that’s what it comes down to.
yew***:
No matter how I look at it, I don’t think we want to get involved with them for the next thousand years. The fact that they hate us so much means that we’d probably be alright for the next 10,000,000 years, actually.
yri*****:
Obviously doesn’t want to live all that much.
cja*****:
This is an article full of fantasy ～(笑)
They can think and write whatever they like, but makes me question their humanity.
Comments from 2ch.net:
ドラゴンスリーパー(西日本)＠＼(^o^)／:
This really has crossed the line.
男色ドライバー(静岡県)＠＼(^o^)／ :
Those guys, they cross a line that they really shouldn’t cross without a care in the world, they provoke us.
タイガースープレックス(チベット自治区)＠＼(^o^)／ :
This guy is really too crazy, I’m worried about the reaction.
アイアンクロー(茨城県)＠＼(^o^)／ :
We’ll never have a good relationship with a country that publishes an article like that in a public newspaper.
チキンウィングフェースロック(中部地方)＠＼(^o^):
Didn’t you learn not to insult the Emperor during Akihito’s time?
ドラゴンスクリュー(茸)＠＼(^o^)／:
For real?
This ain’t going to end as a joke.
ファイヤーバードスプラッシュ(WiMAX)＠＼(^o^)／ :
This should be the headline on TV news shows.
タイガードライバー(庭)＠＼(^o^)／:
Just what we expect from the discrimiNATION Korea.
Fearsome hatred.
ドラゴンスープレックス(東京都)＠＼(^o^)／:
Ah they’ve gone and done it now wwwww
Stupid Korea.
ファイヤーバードスプラッシュ(WiMAX)＠＼(^o^)／:
This is war.
雪崩式ブレーンバスター(新潟県)＠＼(^o^)／ :
Far from severing relations with them, we should be declaring war on them.
