Weekly Highlights from the Japanese Press No. 4
From the April 4, 2024 Edition of Weekly Bunshun
Weekly Highlights from the Japanese Press No. 4
From the April 4, 2024 Edition of Weekly Bunshun
From Weekly Bunshun: Putin’s Attempt to Increase Patriotic Feeling, Black Fiction, and an Appeal to Matsumoto Hitoshi
In the THIS WEEK INTERNATIONAL column, journalist Nagoshi Kenrō casts doubt on the authenticity of the video of tortured ISIS-K fighters published by the Russian government. According to Nagoshi, Putin has spread through social media a fake video of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov claiming involvement in the attack on television as part of an attempt to cover up his failures and strengthen patriotic feeling. Putin further claims that the culprits were fleeing to Ukraine and that the latter had prepared a reception point on the border. Putin ignored warnings from US intelligence concerning the attack and said during a speech at FSB headquarters that it was an attempt by the US to threaten him and provoke fear in Russian society. Nagoshi worries that Putin may use this as an excuse for greater mobilization and expansion of the front.
For the 716th installment of his weekly series, “KOTODAMA USA,” Machiyama continues his coverage of American black culture with an essay on the novels about American blacks written by American black novelist Percival Everett. Among them is The Trees, a mystery about the murder of two white descendants of the men who murdered Emmett Till, which, Machiyama suggests, may recount a kind of fictional vengeance, and James, one in which the runaway slave from Huckleberry Finn is depicted as a philosopher who secretly criticized John Locke and Voltaire but pretended to be ignorant because that would make whites feel comfortable.
The Matsumoto Hitoshi saga continues in this edition with a long essay by A-san, his anonymous accuser. She denies accusations of having someone behind her pulling the strings and states that her goal in coming forward was to contribute to making Japan a society in which women forced into sexual acts no longer have to bear it in silence. A-san recounts the events of that night as follows. In the winter of 2015, Ozawa invited her to a party with Matsumoto Hitoshi, where the latter said strange things like, “Can you bear children?” She was forced into a room naked with him. He screamed at her, “Come on, can’t you?” and seemed to be aroused by her fear. He came in her mouth. Afterward, A-san sent Ozawa and Matsumoto a text thanking them. They are using this as a smoking gun against her, but at the same time, she reveals, she sent a friend a series of texts in which she says that it was good that she did not come that night because it was “wild,” and that she was able to protect herself at the last moment but other girls were not. A-san admits that she continued to meet the two after that night, but claims that this was not out of forgiveness, but, first, because if she earned the ire of Ozawa he would use his connections in the industry to freeze her out, and, second, in order to gather information to use against them later. At first, she didn’t know where to turn with these accusations. She had no proof, so she couldn’t go to the police. She first thought of going to Weekly Bunshun when their reporting on Johnny’s and sexual victimization in the film industry successfully began to change attitudes in society. A-san concludes by expressing her willingness to take to the witness stand if necessary in order to create a society in which it is easy for women to speak out.