G-SEC WORKING PAPER No.23
A Consideration of Media-Nationalism:
A Case Study of Japan after the Second World War
Yutaka OISHI *December, 2007

Keywords

Media-Nationalism, Informationization, Public Opinion,
Nationalism, National Consciousness．
Abstract

Most Japanese have come to believe that their nation needs to take more
responsibility for global security than before. They have recognized that the way ofachieving this goal is to contribute in the military, as well as political, economic
fields, mainly because of Japanese media reports. In fact they have repeatedly
reported the importance of the contribution not only for global community but also
for Japanese national interest. This is a critical aspect of ‘Media-Nationalism’ inrecent Japan, especially after the Persian Gulf War. And then the trend has been
reinforced by ‘September 11 Terror Attacks’. I will consider this by examining therelationship media and nationalism from the longer and wider perspective ofJapanese society after the Second World War.

*

Senior Researcher, GSEC; Director, Institute for Media and Communication Research;
Professor, Faculty of Political Science, Keio University.
I’d like to thank Mr. Garrett Washington (Purdue University) for useful suggestion.

1. Introduction: What is Media-Nationalism?

At present most people receive news via the media, which functions as a ‘window’ forlooking out onto the world. However, people do not simply believe the news precisely as
the media reports it. On this point, Walter Lippmann wrote ‘For the most part we do not
first see, and then define, we define and then see’ (Lippmann, 1922:81). Audiences receive
news filtered through preexisting definitions or images that already exist in their minds.
Most of these preexisting elements are historically cultivated and shared with other persons
in society. It must be remembered that journalists also operate in this situation.
So then, how are the definitions and images formed or made? This question can berephrased; what is the ‘window’ for us when looking back upon historical affairs? Firstly,
the answer to the question lies in the works of historians that describe and explain events
while building on the basis of original data and documents. Secondly, it can be found in
textbooks which offer edited and summarized syntheses of historical works for beginners
and students. But the ‘window’ is not limited to these for most of people. Rather it would
be more valid to say that people also generally learn and understand history through novels,
films, TV dramas, and other media which are involved in popular culture.
We need a new word or concept to frame our investigation into the impacts of media
on the audience’s views about history, and furthermore on the formation of nationalism. So
I’d like to propose the key word, ‘Media-Nationalism’ to capture this meaning. In modern
society mass media have always influenced the national consciousness and nationalism
among people in different ways, independent of whether media has done so intentionally ornot.
Of course mass media not only delivers news but also novels, films, dramas and otherelements to audiences. National consciousness has been historically cultivated and1

accumulated in the context of each country or society. It has often been visible innewspaper, radio and television news and other mass media, and more recently on theInternet which is often treated as ‘participatory media’. We can call this situation
Media-Nationalism. I would offer the following definition for the term: ‘the situation of‘Media-Nationalism’ is one in which the diffusion of mass media and new media such as
the Internet increase national consciousness and nationalism in a nation-state’. Of course,‘Media-Nationalism’ appears in societies where mass media and the Internet are relatively
well diffused among the general public.
In relation to it I need to define the concept of ‘Nationalism’ as follows ‘Nationalism
is a set of ideas and movements in which people imagine a unit of a nation consisting ofregion, religion, language and other factors, their forces of cohesion increase, and people
try to enlarge their interests. So then ‘Media-Nationalism’ is a concept for reconsidering
nationalism by placing critical emphasis on the linkage between media and nationalism.

2. An Episode of Ryotaro SHIBA in relation to ‘Media-Nationalism’ in JapanAt Present Ryotaro Shiba is one of the most popular and famous authors in Japan. He
wrote numerous books and frequently participated in seminars whose subjects were mainly
Japanese history. His works have a considerable influence on Japanese society, which could
be termed the ‘Shiba-Boom’. In his writings, he provided substantial knowledge andlessons as well as images about Japan to the Japanese people. Next I will discuss the author
in order to reexamine ‘Media-Nationalism’ in Japan, especially after the Second WorldWar.
It should be emphasized that ‘Shiba-boom’ has increased significantly since his deathin 1996. Why has this happened? One answer to the question is that Shiba was given an2

important status by mass media, not only as an acclaimed author of Japanese historicalnovel but also as a person capable of diagnosing the sicknesses of Japanese Society. Indeed
he commented on many different kinds of political, social, and historical problems. Massmedia frequently broadcast his opinion. As a result of this, his fame has been establishedand the image of Japanese history made by him has been widely diffused and gained
popularity among Japanese.
Referring to Shiba’s works, one author offered a very interesting opinion, which issummarized below; ‘When the readers have come to believe more and more that thecontents of Shiba’s novels are ‘true’, they mistakenly believe that they have knowledge
about Japanese history through his novels’(Sekikawa, 2003: 139). Certainly mass media
has greatly contributed to it. The view of Japanese history suggested by Shiba has given anational identity to Japanese through novels and TV dramas. Mass media as a whole has
held Shiba and his works in high esteem, and thus his view of Japanese history has bothestablished a dominant position and become popular.
I’d like to focus on Shiba’s perspective on the Second World War, especially policies
based on militarism. Despite the fact that he intensely criticized the policies made by theJapanese government and military and other political elites again and again, his opinion has
been accepted not only by ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ groups but also by ‘conservative’ or‘reactionary’ ones as well. The reason is that his opinion is rather different from theso-called ‘masochism’ that tends to criticize or condemn the whole of modern Japanese
history. In fact he wrote ‘The whole of Japanese history is beautiful in terms of physicaland spiritual level’ (Shiba,1993：36) and insisted that the dark age of Japanese society,
1905-1945 (especially during The Second World War), was exceptional, and he even calledit ‘another country.’ Some scholars and writers have criticized his view on Japanese history,
claiming that it has contributed to the formation and diffusion of an invalid view of modern

3history among Japanese that has consequently allowed most of them not to worry about the‘Dark Age’ and to avoid facing it directly. I think we can identify one dominant stream ofthis view of Japanese history that has been formed by mass media. It is typical of the trendof ‘Media-Nationalism’ in Japan after the Second World War.
I’d like to emphasize that while nationalism is most likely to strengthen the people’snational self-awareness and encourage national cohesion, it can also make people critical oraggressive toward the exterior. When the nation-state is the primary basis for nationalism,
mass media may encourage or support the aggressive attitude shared among the people.
It is usually said that the surveillance of the environment is the main function of mass
media. But it is very difficult for mass media to draw a clear line that separates it from therationale and interests dominating the nation-state where the media is headquartered, even
if mass media claims to seek neutrality and objectivity. And it is very difficult for reporters,
especially those belonging to mass media, to execute neutral and objective reporting. For
example when the word ‘national interest’ is used, mass media reports, comments, andopinions are easily included within the rationale and interests of the nation-state. Throughthis channel, nationalism increases and Media-Nationalism should therefore be consideredeven more remarkable. In addition we should note that the rationale and interests areusually embedded as well as expressed in messages transmitted through mass media
reports.

3. The mechanism of linkage between media and nationalism

As described earlier, newspaper, radio, and TV, as well as Internet are intimately
connected with national consciousness and nationalism. In modern history we can easilyfind lots of instances in which mass media has contributed to the integration of citizens into4

their respective nation-states and to the development of nationalism, because the people cantypically obtain common information through mass media. The social process of masscommunication has developed in tandem with nation-state building. We can say that masscommunication is a necessary condition for the development of nation-state and vice versa.
It should be emphasized that the diffusion and sharing of information influences
people not only on a superficial level but also on a more profound one. Next I will examine
a case of news reporting as it relates to this point. Firstly, we should notice that events are
named by news reports in the form of words, sounds, or images delivered via mass media.
The name given to an event must be connected with the meaning and value given to it.
Consequently most people’s values become more uniform, not more diverse. Because as
noted before, most of people get information about social affairs by exposure to mass
media, and mass media often tends to deliver uniformed news. Secondly, sharing values
can lead to the ‘We’ feeling among the people. The feeling can form the national identity
through which the people (re)discover their belongingness to the nation-state. Thirdly, news
media can be very useful for sharing the national image that the people share and identify
with. Fourthly, and related to the last point, the mass media can invent a ‘They’ which iscontrasted with the ‘We’. In the view of ‘We’ there are two opinions inherent to therelationship between ‘We’ and ‘They’. One is normative, that ‘We’ people should coexist
with ‘They’. The other is that ’They’ should be forcibly included in or assimilated to ‘We’,or that ‘They’ should be excluded from ‘We’. War reporting represents one example of thissituation.
When examining the interaction between media and nationalism, and the mechanismof Media-Nationalism as a whole, we should focus on the characters of the function of mass
media. Mass media must cut off some components of the affairs of ‘reality’, and then reportas news selected elements that fit in line with stories shared among the people, and lastly

5construct a ‘social reality’ which is different from ‘reality’. In other words there is acirculation process that consists of the following three stages: The first is that mass media
constructs ‘social reality;’ the second is that ‘reality’ is made by reflecting the ‘social
reality;’ and the third is that mass media again constructs the ‘social reality’ by cutting off
the ‘reality’ and reporting the chosen elements. We can recognize the interaction process
among the three factors; ‘reality’, mass media, and ‘social reality’ (or public opinion). We
can easily see this process at work in the political arena. Particularly we have seen manycases in the field of diplomacy and international politics in which the negative image
toward foreign countries increases among the people by the mechanism of‘Media-Nationalism’ and then the national consciousness and nationalism are reinforced.
I will propose another question; how has the development of informationization, thathas been accelerated by the diffusion of many different kinds of information technology
and media, and how has it influenced the trend of ‘Media –Nationalism’? Whenconsidering them the concept of an information society is very useful. This idea has atendency to emphasize the positive aspects of the impact brought about by
informationization. It has suggested that the development of informationization would
contribute to providing the users with a public sphere where they can express their opinions
as well as improve their ordinary lives. Taking this optimistic view to its logical conclusion,
I can outline a sequence model, as below:① Development and diffusion of informationization.
② More increase and differentiation of media and its contents (especially in the field of
borderless information flow and online public opinion).
③ The people’s values become differentiated.
④ The national consciousness and nationalism among the people tends to decline.

6

According to this model the more variation of media and information, the more useful
they will be for repressing nationalism. In contrast with this, there is another view whichholds that the development of informationization does not solve many kinds of social
problems but rather worsens them or even creates some new ones. This view is called thecritical perspective of information society, which emphasizes the serious problems;‘Surveillance society’ or ‘Digital Divide’. From the pessimistic and critical view I can also
summarize by outlining a sequence model that shows the relationship between media andnationalism, as below.
① The development of informatinization.
② The more media and its contents are concentrated and unified, the more emotional
public opinion is expressed.
③ The people’s values become unified.
④ The national consciousness among the people tends to grow.
Comparing the two models we can easily see cases of the latter in Japan and othercountries, where nationalism grows through media.

4. Some bases of ‘Media-Nationalism’‘Media-Nationalism’ is not caused only by the development and diffusion of different
kinds of media and their contents. When it is born and grows there must be a base for
accepting it within the nation-state. As is widely known, a state consists of land, people,
sovereign, and national identity among the people. The “state” sometimes means anapparatus of government and power, sometimes the overall social system subject to thatgovernment or power’ (Giddens, 1985: 17). The state apparatus is essential for nationbuilding and national development or stability. In addition the organizations and people

7who belong to and operate in the nation-state need to regard the institution as legitimate.
And the people see themselves as members of the nation-state by constructing andmaintaining national identity.
Next I need to refer to the concept of national culture, which consists of national
identity, dominant values and ways of life and thinking in the nation state. National culture
plays important roles for constructing and maintaining the nation state and the nationalismof the modern society. We can define nation-state-based nationalism as follows:‘Nationalism is a set of ideas and movements in which the people imagine the nation-state,
their forces of cohesion are increased, and they try to enlarge their interests.’
In the late of twentieth century, globalization has progressed rapidly, many people,
goods, and information often move beyond borders more easily, and interdependency
among states has further increased. Consequently nationalism based on the nation-state hastransformed. In advanced societies sub-cultures grounded on region, ethnicity, religion,
language, generation, gender and others have gained importance and become powerful. The
identity rooted in the sub-cultures has become distinct. The members of sub-cultures havebegun to reproduce their original or specific nationalisms which often oppose thenation-state-based nationalism. There are many cases where the sub-cultures conflict with
the national culture. Especially the problems of immigrants and foreign workers who are
not easily included in or assimilated to the national culture have become serious as kinds of‘ethnic problems’. At the same time it has raised the national consciousness based on the
sub-cultures. Namely ‘even in the age of globalization people try to seek culture relating totheir ‘roots’, which can provide spatial and historical foundations instead of a nation-statethat is relatively artificial for the people’ (Matsumoto, 2002; 97). The type of nationalism
based on the nation-state has changed due to the development of sub-cultures andglobalization.

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5. How has nationalism in Japan changed since the Second World War?

Masao Maruyama who was one of the most important and famous ‘opinion-leaders’after the Second World War wrote a very well known phrase in his book, which was ‘I’d
like to bet not on the ‘real existence’ of a military Japan before the Second World War, butinstead on the ‘fiction’ of the Japanese political regime’s goals after the Second World
War’ (Maruyama,1964; 584-585). His opinion, as represented by this quote, has been
widely accepted and achieved the predominant position among the public, especiallyintellectuals. The goal or normative standard of the opinion was ‘civil society’ anddemocracy in Western societies. At that time (almost spanning between 1945-1990) many
Japanese had negative images of nationalism because they associated nationalism with thesort of radical patriotism that the Japanese people shared up until World War. The words
and concepts set in contrast to nationalism and patriotism has been ‘demilitarization’ and‘neutral’ among most Japanese. A lot of them have supported them as precious ideas andhave insisted on protecting Japanese Constitution, especially article 91.
However the reality of Japan has become estranged from the peace-oriented conceptsof the global community. Certainly Japan has adopted the policy for light armament but has
subordinated itself to the U S. for its national security. The Japanese have certainly reacheda consensus on the point that the peace-oriented concepts are one of the most important
1

Article 9 in Japanese constitution states:(1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanesepeople forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force
as means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, aswell as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state
will not be recognized.

9‘national goals’. But there is inconstancy within the consensus or national goal. In factmany Japanese approve of the lightly armed force (only for self-defense), while they wantto maintain the Japanese Constitution (including article9) (NHK Hoso Yoron Chousajo Hen,1982; 172-175).
Aside from political and foreign issues, the Japanese government and the private
business sector have made tremendous efforts to accomplish economic growth. Japan has
achieved expert status in the field of economics in the world while maintaining the goal of apacifist state. As Japan gained more economic power and international influence there
appeared an opinion that has been called ‘Japanese revisionism’. It has insisted onreassessing and emphasizing characteristics of Japanese society including traditional
culture. Needless to say the view has had a close relationship with the economic growth. It
also suggests another view that is much different from the mainstream of public opinion.
The main opinion was that catching up with Western societies in the field of economics
was national goal in Japanese modern society. Referring to ‘Japanese revisionism’
Takeuchi wrote below. “The traditional institutions and consciousness were given anegative image as inferior and pre-modern. But they have subsequently come to be admired
when it is recognized that they contribute to the rapid modernization in Japan as a ‘magiccard’” (Takeuchi, 2005; 265). The perspective of ‘Japanese revisionism’ has provided
Japanese with the opportunity for reconsidering nationalism, particularly in the field ofpolitics.
The social trend or climate of opinion has become remarkable in the 1990s when theinternational community has so dramatically changed, particularly due to the end of Cold
War. For example the conservative faction in Japan began to insist that Japan could nolonger maintain the policy of ‘one-state-pacifism’. The policy has meant that Japan has atendency to preserve its own peace and security without making an active contribution for10resolving armed conflicts overseas. They also began to assert that the Japanese should
recognize the necessity of national consciousness and nationalism, again, their national (orethnic) identity, and the national interest.
Furthermore the Japanese government advocated the three principles and policies thatshould be gradually accomplished (Nakasone et. al.1992; 258-264). These are ‘statism’ inthe political sphere (the state should actively play its proper roles), ‘liberalism’ ineconomics (deregulation should be promoted), and ‘internationalism’ in the global
community (the state should become more open to the global society). This stance isclosely related with the revision of Japanese constitution. That document asserts that Japan
should contribute to the global community not only in the field of economics but also ofinternational politics and global security, and insisted that the Japanese Self Defense Force(JSDF) should be dispatched overseas in order to achieve it. The opinion has caught thepeople’s attention and has been gradually accepted among them.

6. The change of consciousness and feeling of nationalism in Japan

In the 1990’s, Japanese people were very shocked by the collapse of the bubble
economy, and the public opinion transformed rapidly. It has encouraged the change ofnational consciousness and nationalism. I will mention some evidence about it below.
Looking to the research result of the question, ‘confidence in Japan’, the affirmative answer
to it has decreased. For example the answer to ‘Do you think Japan belongs to first rankstates?’ has gone down from the peak of 57% (1993), then to 49% (1993), 38% (1998) 36%(2003) (NHK Hoso Bunka Kenkyujo Hen,2004; 115-118). NHK also explained that thechange has been mainly caused by the economic breakdown. This evidence reveals the11reason that confidence in Japan has mostly been based on and supported by the economic
success.
In addition a key factor that has influenced Japanese national consciousness andnationalism was the Persian Gulf War (1990-91). It encouraged the Japanese people todiscuss how Japan should contribute to global security (in this case, of Middle-East region),and then to reconsider and further criticize the Japanese policy of ‘One-State-Pacifism’.
When the people were asked ‘What policy should Japan adopt after Persian Gulf War’,
61% of people answered ‘Japan should play an active role for resolving international
conflicts’. Needless to say, an active role signified ‘dispatching the JSDF overseas’. Below
are some related opinions (Asahi Shinbun, 19 June, 1991).

① The JSDF should not be dispatched overseas; 21%.
② The JSDF should be dispatched only for limited operations, such as disaster relief
and other non-military operation; 46%.
③ The JSDF should be dispatched and permitted military operation only under thecommand of UN (ex. Participating in Peace Keeping Operation of UN); 23%.
④ The JSDF should participate in the force operation (ex. Multi National Force in
Persian Gulf War); 5%.
⑤ Others and NA; 5%.

The opinion pool also had the question, ‘Do you think that foreign people see Japan as
reliable country?’ The affirmative response, ‘Yes’, had decreased; from 45% (December,1990) to 35% (June, 1991). But the negative response, ‘No’, had gone up; from 44%(December, 1990) to 55% (June, 1991). In my view the research results might suggestthat the positive response to ‘Dispatching JSDF overseas’ has been correlated with the12decline of confidence in Japan and the desire to regain foreign nations’ confidence in Japan.
The majority of Japanese seemed to want to recover the trust by foreign countries byplaying active roles in resolving international conflicts (i.e. dispatching JSDF to overseas).
The trend of public opinion has in turn encouraged the disputes over the JapaneseConstitution which forbids the dispatch of the JSDF overseas. And it has increased thenumber of opinions favoring the revision and reform of the Constitution. The affirmative
response to the question, ‘We had better amend the Constitution’, has increased from 33%(1991) to 50% (1993) (Yomiuri Sinbun Yoron chousabu, 2002: 49). Furthermore regarding
the reform of the Constitution, the proportion of positive images (e.g. ‘future oriented’(28%), ‘independent’ (14%), ‘realistic’ (29%)) was larger than that of negative ones (e.g.
‘restoration’ (8%), ‘expansion in armaments’ (10%) (Asahi Shinbun, May 3, 2002).
But we should recognize that many Japanese have not regarded the reform ofConstitution as the most important issue for the present. For example when the people wereasked ‘What issue should politicians deal with?’, most of them mentioned ‘economic
development’, which has risen from 21% (1993) to 48% (1998), lastly to 48% (2003)(NHK Hoso Bunka Kenkyuujo,2004;72-74). From this public opinion data, we canconclude that most Japanese would like to be proud of economic superiority in the world.
In other words nationalism in Japan has been closely related the the consciousness andfeeling of economic power. This economic confidence, however, has decreased because of
the collapse of the bubble economy in Japan, rapid development of Chinese economy, andrestoration of U.S. economy. As a result of this the national consciousness and nationalism
based on economic prosperity have ‘drifted’.
Another factor that has caused the decrease of confidence has been the fluctuation ofself-image among Japanese. Although most Japanese believed that their own society has
been much safer and more peaceful than any other countries, serious events and crises

13happened in Japan in 1995. These consisted of the ‘Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake(January)’ and ‘Sarin gas attack on underground Tokyo (March)’. Certainly most Japaneseconsider the great earthquake to have been a natural disaster and the sarin attack the workof the radical new religious group called ‘Aum Shinri Kyo’.
But most Japanese were extremely shocked by these events, for they forced theJapanese to realize that their society is more dangerous and fragile than they had previously
assumed. These two events caused Japanese confidence in their own society decrease. Infact this conclusion is supported by the results of the following opinion pool about the sarin
attack (Mainichi Shinbun, June 11, 1995). People were asked; ‘Do you think that there isa relationship between these two situations; one is that Aum Shinri Kyo has acquired manyadherents, especially young generation, and committed immoral actions; the other is that
there are lots of social problems to be solved in Japan. 61% responded in the affirmative
while 19% responded in the negative. Thus many Japanese thought that their own society
produced the felony group.
There has been a decrease of confidence in safety and peace as well as economics inJapan. It has in turn led to the decrease of the pride of their society and the fluctuation ofnationalism that was based on economic success. Then the people began to recognize theimportance for Japan to establish a powerful position in global community with strong
orientation toward a nationalism based on economic power.
Given these difficult times, the opinion advocating a policy of contribution to theglobal community has become the norm. Both the Japanese government and the people
thought that dispatching the JSDF overseas was one of the best ways to contribute to theglobal community and to make Japan more appealing to foreign countries. Japanese public
opinion gradually accepts and supports the policy of dispatching the JSDF to Iraq and other14

countries where serious conflicts exist. It is one of the most important aspects ofnationalism in Japan.

7. ‘Media-Nationalism’ after ‘September 11 Terror Attacks’ in JapanThe ‘September 11 Terror Attacks’, following Afghanistan War and Iraq War have thecommon characteristics of a ‘Television War’. In particular, the pictures of the terror
attacks, which happened September 11, 2001, have appeared on TV again and again. The
serious and tragic event and various reports about it invoked the inferior collective memory
among Japanese that originated from the Gulf War.
As a result of it, as described above, the majority of the Japanese pubic opinion has
agreed with more active contribution to the world community in the military as well as the
economic field. It should be emphasized that the war reports by U.S. media generally
adopted a binary scheme, ‘terrorists and its supporters’ vs. ’U.S. forces and its supporters’.
The former was portrayed as evil enemies, and the latter as lawful allies. Most of the media
and the majority opinion in Japan followed the same scheme. Then when Japan decided tojoin the ‘Coalition of Willing’ for attacking Iraq as well as Afghanistan, most Japanese
recognized themselves as one of the important member of U.S. supporters. Japan thus
reproduced and reinforced the values that formed the ‘We’ feeling belonging to U.S.
supporters, but most Japanese regard Afghanistan, Iraq, and Islamic countries less as
enemies than simply as a ‘They’. In addition a terrorist group, ‘Al-Qaeda’ and its leader‘Osama bin Laden’ have been regarded as symbols of ‘Enemy’, ‘Evil‘ and ‘They’ by mostof Japanese as well as Western people.
Some Japanese and its media questioned the legitimacy of Afghanistan and Iraq War,and sending the JSDF to Iraq, and criticized a series of policies executed by Japanese15government in accordance with U.S. policies. But as described before, the supporters ofsending the JSDF to Iraq has increased in tandem with the international or national serious
anxiety caused by ‘9.11 terrorism’. The results of a public opinion pool conducted just after
sending the JSDF to Iraq show an increase in the number of Japanese who support the
JSDF’s continued deployment; the question was “Do you support the opinion that Japan
should continue sending the JSDF to Iraq, or not?” The answer “Yes” was 50%, “No” was
32%. （Asahi-shinbun, April 17/18, 2004). As media reported the issue again and again,emphasizing the situation of the U.S. and her allies, and expressing the necessity of joining
them, the climate of opinion has certainly changed and has been reinforced. It can beinterpreted as growing into ‘active nationalism’.
Another aspect of the change in the climate of public opinion is that most Japanesewish to maintain a secure society. We can call this ‘negative nationalism’. Some media
reported that Japan was targeted by the terror (but fortunately it has not happened yet in
Japan). Some Japanese were killed and abducted in Iraq. In addition in 2004 terrorists
attacked trains in Madrid, and yet others attacked London’s subways and buses in 2005.
Through a series of media reports, most Japanese have again come to recognize the position
that Japan should occupy in the global community and understand the importance of asecure nation. Now the Japanese have become more aware that Japan is a member ofadvanced countries and U.S. allies, and they advocate not yielding to terror.
Needless to say national security is a point of national interest and the climate ofopinion after the ‘9.11 attacks’ in Japan began to resonate more with this prioritization. In
referring this I need mention other serious problems that have been caused by North Korea.
Since Prime Minister Junichirou Koizumi suddenly visited North Korea 2002, manydifferent kinds of Japanese media have eagerly reported the threats of the country again andagain. Indeed the country has some threatening elements for Japan, including nuclear

16

weapons and the abduction of Japanese people. As Japanese media has actively reported
these aspects Japanese nationalism has been elevated. It is another important aspect of‘Media-Nationalism’ in recent Japan.

8. Conclusion

Most Japanese have come to believe that their nation needs to take more responsibility
for global security than before. They have recognized that the way of achieving this goal is
to contribute in the military, as well as political, economic fields. In other words they havecome to appreciate the limitation of ‘one-state-pacifism’, mainly because Japanese media
has repeatedly reported the pressing issues. Then the trend of public opinion has been
linked to the formation of national consciousness and nationalism. This is a typical exampleof the present situation of ‘Media-Nationalism’ in Japan.
Of course some Asian countries, especially China and South Korea, have expressed
their fears about this trend. Because they were seriously damaged by Japanese invasion
during the Second World War. As Japan has had a unique position in Asia, it has attachedgreater importance to U.S. than other Asian countries. But Japan now needs to listen to theopinions of Asian countries more than ever before because Japan has become deeply
involved with them. How does Japan cope with this and establish a relationship ofmutual-respect with Asian countries although it continues to maintain its orientation to the
U.S. This is the most important issue in the conditions for the rise of ‘Media-Nationalism’in Japan, especially for the media.

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・

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