Löschke A (2025)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution
Publication year: 2025
Event location: Cardiff University
This presentation examines how Japan’s non-elite media and far-right publications have sought to delegitimize counter-protesters opposing far-right street demonstrations since 2013. Since the 1980s, Japanese non-elite media—particularly infotainment TV programs known as “wide shows” and gossip-oriented tabloid magazines—have blurred the lines between entertainment and news, frequently sensationalizing societal and political issues for commercial purposes. In the context of the blurring boundaries between entertainment and news reporting, along with a publishing recession, a new book genre known as “hate books” (heito-bon) emerged in the late 1990s and has continued to disseminate hate speech, xenophobic and revisionist narratives to this day.
This study qualitatively analyzes three key media forms that have undermined counter-protesters: (1) wide shows, which depicted counter-protesters as criminal, violent, and illegitimate; (2) hate books, such as Makoto Sakurai’s The Great Anti-Korean Diary (2016), which ridiculed and discredited counter-protesters; and (3) new media platforms—including curated websites, blogs, and social media—operated by far-right activists to amplify these narratives. I argue that these media channels collectively shape public perceptions by systematically portraying counter-protesters as violent and illegitimate actors.
Through reinforcing prejudiced narratives across traditional and digital platforms, these media outlets have significantly impeded counter-protesters’ efforts to combat hate speech in Japan. This analysis underscores the interconnectedness of traditional and new media in perpetuating far-right discourses and highlights the persistent challenges faced by those resisting xenophobia and hate.
APA:
Löschke, A. (2025). Japanese Media and Far-Right Publications: Undermining Counter-Protests. In Proceedings of the the 2025 British Association for Japanese Studies Conference. Cardiff University.
MLA:
Löschke, Ayaka. "Japanese Media and Far-Right Publications: Undermining Counter-Protests." Proceedings of the the 2025 British Association for Japanese Studies Conference, Cardiff University 2025.
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