Japanese politics are characterized by two related paradoxes: first, that the word “conservative” is usually applied to those who insist on the need to remake Japan’s postwar society, including its constitution, and who in other words are actually radicals, while those who insist on “conserving” Japan’s postwar democratic institutions are labeled radicals or leftists; and second, that those who most insist that Japan subordinate itself to the United States describe themselves as “nationalists,” while those who seek to prioritize Japanese over US interests are suspected of being somehow “un-Japanese.” It is an Alice in Wonderland confusion...Usually when you read an article about "paradoxes" in a topsy turvy Japan you have to hold your breath as you are likely to get a "mystery of the Orient" version of Japan. This one is not of that type. One hint is that a visiting journalist did not write it.
Full article at Japan Focus.
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