Takaichi's Electoral Victory: Another Chinese POV

An examination of what lured voters to overwhelmingly support Takaichi's party

Zhou Deyu’s work was previously published here as “The Epstein Case & American Elite Morality: A Chinese Perspective” which was insightful and provocative. Here he chooses a far more complex topic yet doesn’t mention the most obvious example that currently exists—Zionism. Why only he knows. The header image is from his Guancha article, “If you want to know how the fascists came to power, look at Japan now.” Perhaps because the Zionists have been in power since 1948 and busily killing Palestinians he doesn’t see them as being the example he wants or is familiar with since he was educated at American universities. That drawback aside, and the fact that entire books are devoted to this topic—how Fascism/Nazism arises—readers can judge if he provides an adequate explanation regarding Japan, which has its own historical context that differs greatly from that of the European forms and is most often called Japanese Militarism. An examination of that context would require a lengthy socio-historical essay. Instead of digging into that deep context, Zhou concentrates on the manufacturing and manipulation of consent as they relate to electoral politics. Let’s read what he has to say about that:

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will continue to hold power.

The results of the Japanese House of Representatives election on February 9 not only consolidated the right-wing ruling position in Japan, but also attracted widespread attention from the international community, once again bringing to mind the past when fascist forces came to power through elections.

When I taught a World War II history course to undergraduates at the University of Pittsburgh, some American students had reservations about how the Nazi Party won elections and came to power. For Americans, elections are sacred, and they couldn’t accept the story of electing Nazis.

Therefore, some students offered explanations, arguing that the Nazi Party didn’t win a majority of votes, only a simple majority, which didn’t represent public opinion and couldn’t be considered a true victory. Others believed that Germans at the time were unaware of the Nazi Party’s wickedness, simply viewing it as an ordinary political party, which didn’t mean they genuinely supported it. Still others believed it must have been the result of Nazi coercion and force, and therefore couldn’t be considered a “real” election…

So, I asked them, “Yes, what you’re saying might be true, but when the Nazis won the election, were there problems with the election process? Don’t elections today have the problems you’re talking about?”

They fell silent.

Of course, for many American students with liberal views, these reasons they cited were not only directed at the Nazi Party, but also implicitly at Trump, who had just won the election. They also felt that Trump’s victory was not “legitimate,” believing that Trump’s election was due to voters being misled or to flaws in the Electoral College system, not a problem with the election itself.

But by 2024, Trump had been thoroughly criticized and discredited for inciting his supporters to storm Capitol Hill in 2021, and everyone knew what he had done; moreover, he was still in the public eye at that time and did not have much coercive power to interfere in the election... but in the end he still won the election, and even won the popular vote.

What does this prove? Many people would rather admit that the Americans are incompetent than that the electoral system is flawed.

Sigh, can’t it be both of those?

It’s just like when the Nazis came to power. The German people, filled with a desire for revenge after World War I, coupled with long-standing racism and the incompetent and muddle-headed so-called “establishment,” meant that if you let the Nazi Party, which was adept at manipulating public opinion, enter elections ten thousand times, they would still win.

Elections, in the end, are nothing more than a procedure. There is no procedure in this world that is an oracle carved in stone, immutable and unchanging. No procedure can automatically lead to an ideal outcome. No matter how beautifully procedural theorists talk about it, or claiming it’s the “least bad system,” it’s nothing more than a way of shirking responsibility and abandoning the pursuit of results.

Believing that those elected necessarily represent the will of the people and possess legitimacy to rule is the same as believing that someone has the blood of a true dragon and therefore deserves the mandate of heaven to become emperor; both are essentially stories and theology. Of course, these are all necessary components for the functioning of society.

Any procedure will inevitably be exploited, and any public opinion will inevitably be shaped. Just as people in ancient times could fabricate miracles to gather believers to help them establish religions or seize power, politicians today do the same thing, and it is even more convenient with the help of modern technology.

During my years in the United States, I have come to be very aware of the ignorance and ugliness of public opinion in American society. It’s not just Trump’s supporters; those so-called liberals are essentially a group of racists in disguise. They all believe that Americans are destined to rule the world, only they have different opinions on the specific form of that rule.

Of course, this public opinion in American society is the result of years of shaping by the American political and media landscape. Americans never imagined there could be another perspective on the world. On the one hand, Americans are also victims of the harm and deception inflicted by the US government; on the other hand, given the opportunity, they will not hesitate to incite racial hatred domestically and engage in aggression and expansion abroad.

Just like the fascists during World War II, were the people of Germany, Italy, and Japan truly innocent? From one perspective, their perceptions weren’t their own; they were manipulated. But from another perspective, they undeniably supported and benefited from the war crimes of the German, Italian, and Japanese fascists.

Therefore, decades later, fascism can still easily resurface and evolve into its various forms today. This is because from the very beginning, the post-World War II purges could only target a small number of fascists and a small part of their superstructure, without ever touching their social foundations—something that is difficult to achieve without a thorough social revolution.

This is also what I wrote in my doctoral dissertation. The fascists of that time are so closely related to the right and far-right in Europe and America today—not only because countries are now facing similar economic and social problems as in the 1930s, but also because from the beginning, the people who sympathized with fascism and most of the fascist supporters have never really changed their minds. They have passed down their ideology and organization from generation to generation until today.

Therefore, you will see that the story of “electing Nazis” is still being repeated today, because from top to bottom, from the foundation of public opinion to the upper system, it has always been there, and no one has taken care of it.

People may not have understood in the past how the fascist powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan came to power and attracted fervent public support; the content in history textbooks may seem too distant. However, in recent years, especially with Trump’s second term, how he gradually manipulated and incited extreme public sentiment, and how he used the system to gradually expand his domestic authoritarianism and foreign influence, has become a valuable lesson in history.

What is happening in Japan today is merely another chapter in a series of fascist reenactments in recent years. Japan suffered far less retribution after World War II than Europe and the United States, and its electoral system and electoral culture are far less modern than those of Europe and the United States. Meanwhile, the political views of the people are still being shaped by a disguised form of militaristic rhetoric and political propaganda.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Liberal Democratic Party won the election today. Just like Trump’s victory in the United States, and just like the victory of fascism nearly a hundred years ago, it is an inevitable result of extreme public opinion and electoral politics.

When someone like Sanae Takaichi achieves a landslide victory in an election, you can interpret it however you like. Yes, you can argue that the Japanese public has been misled and manipulated, and that the opinion doesn’t represent true public sentiment—that’s reasonable, because public opinion is ultimately not something they can control. But you can also argue that most Japanese people are fanatical militarists—that’s also fine, because years of propaganda and education have deeply ingrained this mindset, and you can’t expect the Japanese to suddenly become normal.

Ultimately, just like the people of Germany, Italy, and Japan in the past, and the people of Europe and America today, the Japanese people don’t know what they’re doing. It’s not that they don’t want to live normal lives, nor that they can’t love peace; they simply want to live peaceful lives and enjoy peace themselves. Today, someone tells them that as long as they support the country’s policy of turning its guns outward, they can effortlessly live better lives and enjoy more peace, letting war and suffering only befall others… Who would oppose such a “good” thing?

Such is human nature in most countries of the world: given the opportunity and illusions, anyone can become a loyal subject of fascism. Therefore, whether the people under a fascist regime are truly “innocent” depends on your perspective and point in time. They are not entirely innocent victims, but they are not entirely irredeemable Class A war criminals either.

However, as Marx famously said in *The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte*, when history repeats itself, “the first time it appears as a tragedy, the second as a farce.” Many contemporary fascists who came to power have contracted the disease of fascism but lack its essence. Their political acumen, control over society, and the economic and military strength of their countries are far inferior to those of the past.

Of course, this does not mean they are not dangerous; in fact, they may be more dangerous, because they will bring new problems that have never been seen before in new situations, and their fantasies will drive them to do more unpredictable and extreme things.

There’s an old saying throughout history and across cultures: “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” While the final outcome is predictable, who can truly prepare for the madness that precedes destruction? [My Emphasis]

As I stated above, it’s a shame the Zionists weren’t used as an example. Also, the fact that the Outlaw US Empire kept Fascism/Nazism/Militarism alive and well after WW2 is omitted despite its major contributions to those isms being allowed to exist and even grow to be used as proxies by the Empire. Do Japanese really want to end their Peace Constitution and become Tojo-Era Militaristic, pay for that and continue to pay tribute to its Outlaw US Empire master? The election result says yes, or doesn’t it?

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