Japanese Film Backfires in America

Recently the young man filmmaker Yujiro Taniyama debuted a film dealing with the comfort women issue at Central Washington University. The result was a much larger demonstration of opposition to Japan. The Chinese communist goal of causing division between Japan and America was given a boost because of this film and a lack of understanding of American culture and politics. The film was called "Racist America: The Scottsboro Girls". If the intention of the filmmaker was to tell Americans the Japanese side of the comfort women story and convince them that there was no official policy for the systematic enslavement of women by the Imperial Japanese Army, it failed completely. If the desire was to help communist China by causing division between the people of America and Japan, weakening the alliance between the two countries, it was much more successful. After the incident, more people heard the anti-Japanese, Korean version of the comfort women story.

Why was this? Anyone who knows the facts will understand that it is ridiculous to claim that Japan was able to keep 200,000 women as sex slaves. The filmmaker presented numerous facts to support this. However, facts have no impact if no hears them. People have to first listen in order to hear those facts and people will not listen if they are first insulted. That is what this filmmaker did by calling Americans "racist" and invoking the name "Scottsboro Girls" which is a reference to the "Scottsboro Boys" which is a term for a group of Black men who were accused of raping two White women in America many decades ago. It is a painful and sensitive subject in the United States. The American writer, Michael Yon, who has made similar statements, reviewed the film and stated that it went too far even for him and warned that it would be counter-productive to the Japanese goal of refuting the "sex slave" version of the comfort women story. You can read his post on the subject (in English and Japanese) on his page here. With this film, it is not a case of there being any incorrect information in regards to the comfort women issue but rather the way it is presented and who is presenting it to the people in the United States. Again, if you start by insulting the American people, calling them "racist", they are not going to listen to what you have to say.

This is exactly what happened to this filmmaker. After his speech, only about 20 people remained to watch his movie, the rest left during his opening remarks. However, about 100 people attended a rebuttal discussion held at the university by Korean activists giving an anti-Japanese point of view. Why the difference? One easy difference is that the pro-Korean view meeting did not begin by insulting the audience they were trying to win over. Unfortunately, this filmmaker, Yujiro Taniyama, has a habit of making insulting remarks about Americans. As he recently tweeted prior to an appearance on the Islamic Al-Jazeera network:

Such remarks only help those who wish to portray Japan as a "false friend" of the United States and not a trusted ally, which is the Red Chinese goal. This will infuriate Americans on both the left and the right, Black Americans and White Americans the same.

Leftists and Black Americans will be outraged simply by the title, using the memory of the "Scottsboro Boys" for an issue not having anything to do with Black Americans. It is always a controversial issue whenever anyone tries to compare their situation with that of Blacks in the United States. On the other side, to the right, White Americans will be equally outraged at being called "racists" and blaming Americans for the comfort women issue. Similar to Japanese difficulties with Korea and China, White Americans are often confronted with accusations of racism based on issues of history long in the past. There are also many on both sides and both Black and White who will resent what appears to be a foreign young man stirring up racial antagonism in the United States over a past issue that causes both sides pain and anger. None of this helps Japan but rather it greatly helps the Chinese communists and Korean enemies of Japan who want to divide Japan and the United States, especially at a time before Japan has fully revised Article 9 and become as militarily strong as possible. This film has already caused damage and given Japan a negative image in the United States. Whether or not that was the intention, it has been the result. It is simply a question of taking sides; to be on the side of the Americans and Japanese who want a strong alliance or the side of the Red Chinese who want the alliance to end and isolate Japan on the world stage.

Comfort Women and Useful Idiots

The fight is still going on in Glendale, California over the placement there of a memorial to the Comfort Women by Korean activists. They say it is to remember comfort women of all nationalities but we can see that is a lie because the statue is of a woman in Korean dress and they use these memorials to portray all comfort women as sex slaves that were exploited by the Imperial Japanese Army. This, of course, is incorrect as anyone who does just a little research can plainly see. The comfort women were prostitutes who were paid for their services and while some may have been coerced into service it was usually by their families or Korean agents and certainly not because of Japanese civil or military policy. Of that there should really be no doubt anymore, the facts are clear and plain for all to see. What is worth considering though is why these comfort women memorials are appearing in the United States, in places like California and New Jersey (always in areas with large Korean populations) when this issue had nothing to do with the United States. The answer should be obvious but some do not see it or else have difficulty keeping it in mind.

South Korea has no other reason to put comfort women statues in the United States than to try to spread discord between the United States and Japan. Particularly, they wish to spread anti-Japanese sentiment among the American public so that the American people will put pressure on their elected representatives to draw back from America's staunch support of Japan. The motivation is clear and there is no other explanation for it. From the standpoint of the current geopolitical situation, this makes no sense for South Korea but then neither does the continued antagonism toward Japan. When the greatest threat to South Korean security has always been North Korea and Communist China they should be trying to strengthen ties with all free, non-communist countries. Nonetheless, this is something South Korea has obviously committed to and everyone in Japan, and the United States, should be alert to what their true intentions are and not allow themselves to be duped by this blatant propaganda effort. In this area, South Korea and Communist China have a shared agenda which is to isolate and weaken Japan on the world stage and to use anti-Japanese bigotry as a rallying point for their own people in times of discontent.

This tactic is transparent and easy to see, nonetheless, people in Japan, particularly on the right, must be on guard to not allow themselves to be the "useful idiots" of South Korea and China in this way. After all, these countries do not care what the reasons are for ill-will between Japan and the United States as long as that ill-will exists. They want to encourage it and exploit it and some people in Japan are helping them do it, some purposely (those on the left who do not support their own country) and some inadvertently (those on the right who hold on to past grudges against America). This is to be expected from those on the left, they know what they are doing, they are treasonous and willingly take the side of the enemies of Japan on almost every issue. However, for those on the right, they really should know better and take care not to assist the enemies of Japan by trying to weaken Japan's most important alliance. Already the Communist Chinese have taken advantage of these people and used them as "useful idiots". On Chinese international media and by purchasing time on American media, the Chinese have shown clips from speeches and YouTube videos of people in Japan making verbal attacks or insults against the United States and have shown these in America, putting their own commentary along with it of course.

Some of the most prominent Japanese speakers and YouTube vloggers have had their materials used in this way by the Chinese and they are doing it for the same reason Korea is putting comfort women statues in the United States. The Koreans use the statues to make Americans see the Japanese as wicked people while the Chinese use Japanese video clips attacking America to portray Japan as a false-friend, an untrustworthy ally that hates America. Their goal is the same; to divide Japan and America and weaken the alliance so as to isolate Japan. I wish, I hope, I pray that everyone will be able to see through this tactic and think about what they are doing in the context of the best interests of Japan. Do not be "useful idiots" for Korea and China!