The Japanese Media as Political Enforcement

[Joichi Ito <jito@eccosys.com>]

I'm not sure exactly how the media works in the US, but it might be
helpful for people to understand how politics and media work in Japan.

The politicians and lobby groups all have access to the media.
They hire investigators, photographers and use all kinds of resources
to collect dirt about their political foes. Then, when they need
to put pressure on someone, they go to the sleazy Japanese media
with the dirt and saturate the media with the dirt.

When one gets involved in business or any other activity in Japan,
one chooses either to stay out of the media or use it. Once one
get into the media and people start paying attention to you, the
attention increases. This attention helps you get loans from banks,
get jobs, etc. People think that if you are in media, it is difficult
to do shady things like rip people off, go bankrupt, or run away.
The media keeps writing lots of stuff about you as long as you keep
doing new stuff. At a certain point, after they start running out of
good things to day, they switch and start tearing you apart. That
way, they get twice the media miles out of one person.

The general structure is that your political foes keep releasing
bad stuff about you and minor magazines publish this stuff. As
soon as the political pressure gets too much or the media decides
you are a bore, a public reputation capital bankruptcy occurs
and everyone tears you apart. This has happened to almost every
major modern leader in Japan.

I realize that my public reputation capital in Japan has no
value or meaning on the Net, but it does affect what I can do
on the Net. I am currently very exposed in the media in Japan.
I regularly appear in the Newspapers, TV, Magazines and public
events. I am still not a "rock star" but I am enough of a public
figure so that people bash me publicly and recognize me on the
street. Magazines write about my private life and feel that
"who I am going out with" is worth a headline. In this state,
I have the security of being under a bright light that keeps
direct attacks away, but it makes me very vulnerable to indirect
attacks. Investigators ask my friends whether I take drugs, drive drunk,
have divorced parents... anything. So... To retain my current
position from where I am launching my assault on a bad structure,
I have to cover myself with the media and there I have to comply
with the general legal and moral norms of Japanese society.

Luckily, bashing the bad guys in government and industry is OK
as long as you win. Unfortunately, I can not take drugs, drive
drunk, be a terrorist, or... probably be a hardline cypherpunk.

My currently strategy is to protect my public position and get
as many "torso shots" as possible with my publicly acceptable weapon
before I get knocked down. I will then resort to the use of
"unauthorized weapons".

I am not out to destroy the government or industry. I'm trying
to cure the cancer that has developed. I have a feeling Japan
may die of this cancer, but at least I won't have been a part
of the cancer. and... if Japan dies of the cancer, hey, we can
all build the next Japan.

Sorry to write such a "self-oriented" message. I just wanted
to explain why I am appear very conservative for a cypherpunk
wannabe.

- Joi

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