Japanese Society Groping for a New Notion of 'Publicness'
YAMADA Takao / Journalist
January 5, 2006
The traditional Japanese attitude toward society, which is abstinent and gives priority to "publicness," is changing, as Prime Minister Koizumi's reform aimed at upholding market principle and deregulation made progress. It might be said that the social consciousness of the Japanese people had gradually been changing at their depths and this change surfaced with the arrival of Prime Minister Koizumi. The very person who symbolizes this change is Mr.Taizo Sugimura, a Liberal-Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives, who was returned for the first time at the young age of 26 in the September general election.
After the election TV screen captured Mr. Sugimura's random remarks such as "It is legislators' salaries that I investigated before anything else," "I want to buy a BMW," and "I am so anxious soon to go to the place called Ryotei (expensive Japanese restaurant)." This young man attracted no attention at all during the election campaign nor for the first week after his election, but these unreserved remarks made him leap into sudden fame.
He is an existence which fully embodies, in a condensed manner, contradictions of Japan's present dual electoral system with single-seat constituencies and proportional representation, under which anybody can become a legislator if his or her political party is vigorous enough. He was rejected in a public screening for choosing the LDP candidate for the first constituency of Fukuoka Prefecture but was ranked the 35th in the southern Kanto bloc for proportional representation. It was almost impossible for him to be elected from such a low rank, but he unexpectedly obtained a seat in parliament as a result of the LDP's historic sweeping victory.
When he was a senior high school student, he became a tennis champion in Kokutai (National Athletic Meet.) He went on to the physical education faculty of Tsukuba University, although he gave up the university course halfway. He did not major in either law or economy and his experience as a full-fledged member of society is far from adequate. This became evident from his immature speech and conduct after his election. Newspapers chided his lack of dignity and TV wide-shows took him up as a topic for mockery.
Nevertheless, a strange phenomenon has presented itself; the more he was censured by media and told off by the party executives the more popular he became. Needless to say, the legislators are elites who address public problems. In the past, young legislators whose speech and conduct were so rash were frowned at by the general public and were forced to step down. But that was not the case this time. His ignorance, lack of culture and inexperience did not come into question but he began to be lionized as an innocent hero challenging the old and rigid system.
At first, I had righteous indignation. "If a legislator who repeats such childish random remarks is ridiculous, so are his supporters who muse themselves with such frivolities." I wondered if the hoops of the Japanese community where restraint had been relatively at work so far, had come off. My view changed, however, as I watched what went on. My valuation of young Sugimura's immaturity remains unchanged, but I have come to think that his popularity represents "a destructive impulse of the people in general against establishments such as political parties, bureaucracy and mass media, which constitute Japan's political world of our time."
The support for Mr. Sugimura as a legislator is not logical at all. We find few opinions supporting his speech and conduct in logical terms, but instinctive support for his freshness is widespread. This could be taken to mean that if this young man has some probability of a "son of revolution" who could destroy the old order, people may not care less about his immaturity of speech and conduct.
He resembles former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, in that he was set up as a standard-bearer of reform because of his superficial image without asking what he possesses in him. In the case of Ms. Tanaka, due to her manner as a ferocious woman the former foreign minister was likened to Joan of Arc challenging to reform the Pandemonium-like Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acquired momentary popularity. But she brought about unnecessary confusions in Japan's foreign policy because of her morbidly venomous tongue and reckless deeds and was eventually relieved of the post. She had no political criterion and was interested only in popular applause by playing a reformer.
After all, the same thing is being repeated. People thirst for the destruction of the moldy old order. Former Foreign Minister Tanaka or Legislator Sugimura is lionized as a heroine/hero who would quench such public thirst. Alas they themselves have no vision of creating a new order.
My diagnosis of this phenomenon is that the series of confusions is not a result of loss of intrinsic Japanese virtue of holding "publicness" in reverence but a transient frenzy reflecting unconscious protest of people at large who don't approve of the old order as "publicness."
We should gaze at the frenzy brought about by the tide of history, without getting carried away. What is required of us now is sound judgment to choose what to preserve from what to discard of our past times so that we may construct a new "publicness" in Japan.
The writer is Deputy Managing Editor of the Mainichi Newspapers.
After the election TV screen captured Mr. Sugimura's random remarks such as "It is legislators' salaries that I investigated before anything else," "I want to buy a BMW," and "I am so anxious soon to go to the place called Ryotei (expensive Japanese restaurant)." This young man attracted no attention at all during the election campaign nor for the first week after his election, but these unreserved remarks made him leap into sudden fame.
He is an existence which fully embodies, in a condensed manner, contradictions of Japan's present dual electoral system with single-seat constituencies and proportional representation, under which anybody can become a legislator if his or her political party is vigorous enough. He was rejected in a public screening for choosing the LDP candidate for the first constituency of Fukuoka Prefecture but was ranked the 35th in the southern Kanto bloc for proportional representation. It was almost impossible for him to be elected from such a low rank, but he unexpectedly obtained a seat in parliament as a result of the LDP's historic sweeping victory.
When he was a senior high school student, he became a tennis champion in Kokutai (National Athletic Meet.) He went on to the physical education faculty of Tsukuba University, although he gave up the university course halfway. He did not major in either law or economy and his experience as a full-fledged member of society is far from adequate. This became evident from his immature speech and conduct after his election. Newspapers chided his lack of dignity and TV wide-shows took him up as a topic for mockery.
Nevertheless, a strange phenomenon has presented itself; the more he was censured by media and told off by the party executives the more popular he became. Needless to say, the legislators are elites who address public problems. In the past, young legislators whose speech and conduct were so rash were frowned at by the general public and were forced to step down. But that was not the case this time. His ignorance, lack of culture and inexperience did not come into question but he began to be lionized as an innocent hero challenging the old and rigid system.
At first, I had righteous indignation. "If a legislator who repeats such childish random remarks is ridiculous, so are his supporters who muse themselves with such frivolities." I wondered if the hoops of the Japanese community where restraint had been relatively at work so far, had come off. My view changed, however, as I watched what went on. My valuation of young Sugimura's immaturity remains unchanged, but I have come to think that his popularity represents "a destructive impulse of the people in general against establishments such as political parties, bureaucracy and mass media, which constitute Japan's political world of our time."
The support for Mr. Sugimura as a legislator is not logical at all. We find few opinions supporting his speech and conduct in logical terms, but instinctive support for his freshness is widespread. This could be taken to mean that if this young man has some probability of a "son of revolution" who could destroy the old order, people may not care less about his immaturity of speech and conduct.
He resembles former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, in that he was set up as a standard-bearer of reform because of his superficial image without asking what he possesses in him. In the case of Ms. Tanaka, due to her manner as a ferocious woman the former foreign minister was likened to Joan of Arc challenging to reform the Pandemonium-like Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acquired momentary popularity. But she brought about unnecessary confusions in Japan's foreign policy because of her morbidly venomous tongue and reckless deeds and was eventually relieved of the post. She had no political criterion and was interested only in popular applause by playing a reformer.
After all, the same thing is being repeated. People thirst for the destruction of the moldy old order. Former Foreign Minister Tanaka or Legislator Sugimura is lionized as a heroine/hero who would quench such public thirst. Alas they themselves have no vision of creating a new order.
My diagnosis of this phenomenon is that the series of confusions is not a result of loss of intrinsic Japanese virtue of holding "publicness" in reverence but a transient frenzy reflecting unconscious protest of people at large who don't approve of the old order as "publicness."
We should gaze at the frenzy brought about by the tide of history, without getting carried away. What is required of us now is sound judgment to choose what to preserve from what to discard of our past times so that we may construct a new "publicness" in Japan.
The writer is Deputy Managing Editor of the Mainichi Newspapers.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
新しい公共概念を模索する日本社会
山田孝男 / ジャーナリスト
2006年 1月 5日
市場主義・規制緩和志向の小泉改革の進展に伴い、禁欲的で「公」を優先するという日本人の伝統的な社会意識は変わりつつある。深層で徐々に変わりつつあった日本人の社会意識が、小泉純一郎首相の登場をきっかけに表出したというべきかもしれない。この変化を象徴する人物が、９月の衆院選に弱冠26歳で初当選した自民党の杉村太蔵衆院議員である。
当選後、テレビが映し出した杉村放言録のハイライトは「真っ先に調べたのは国会議員の給料ですよ」「ＢＭＷを買いたい」「早く行ってみたいですよ、料亭に」である。選挙中も、選挙後最初の１週間も、まったく注目されなかった青年は、これで一躍有名になった。
彼は、政党に勢いがあれば誰でも議員になれる小選挙区比例代表並立制の矛盾を一身に凝縮したような存在である。福岡１区（小選挙区）の自民党候補を選ぶ公募でふるい落とされ、比例代表南関東ブロックの第35位にランクされた。こんな下位での当選はありえないはずだったが、自民党が歴史的大勝を収めた結果、思わぬ議席を得た。
高校時代、国体（国民体育大会）テニスで優勝し、筑波大体育専門群に進学し、中退した。法律や経済を専門的に学んだことがなく、社会人としての経験も浅く、これが未熟な言動となって現れる。新聞がその不見識をたしなめ、ワイドショーはもっぱらからかいのタネにした。
ところが、メディアにたたかれ、自民党幹部に叱られるほど、かえって杉村人気が沸くという現象が出来した。言うまでもなく国会議員は公の問題を扱う選良である。以前なら言動の軽率な若手議員は世間のひんしゅくを買って退けられたものだが、今回はそうならなかった。無知・無教養と経験不足は問われず、古い硬直的な制度に挑む無垢なヒーローとしてもてはやされ始めた。
はじめ私は「子どもじみた放言を繰り返す議員も議員なら、おもしろがる支持者も支持者」だという義憤にかられ、これまで比較的抑制が利いていた日本社会のタガが外れてしまったのではないかと考えた。だが、事態を観察するうちに見方が変わった。杉村青年の未熟さについての評価は変わらないが、彼の人気とは「政党、官僚、マスコミという現代日本政界を構成する既成権威に対する民衆の破壊衝動」だと考えるようになった。
杉村議員に対する支持はおよそ論理的ではない。彼の言動を筋道立てて擁護する意見はほとんど見当たらないが、彼の清新さに対する感覚的な支持は大きな広がりをもっている。旧秩序を破壊する革命児の可能性に比べれば、言動の未熟さなど何ほどでもないということなのだろう。
人物の内面を問わず表面的なイメージで改革の旗手に祭り上げられたという点で、彼は田中真紀子元外相に似ている。元外相はその猛女ぶりから伏魔殿・外務省の改革に挑むジャンヌ・ダルクに擬せられ、一時人気を博したが、病的な毒舌と暴走によって外交に無用の混乱をもたらし、更迭された。彼女は政治的基軸を持たず、改革者を演じて喝采を浴びることにしか関心がなかった。
結局、同じことが繰り返されている。人々は黴の生えた旧秩序の破壊を渇望し、その渇きを癒すヒロイン（ヒーロー）として田中元外相なり杉村議員なりがもてはやされるのだが、彼ら自身は新秩序を建設するビジョンを持ち合わせていない。一連の混乱は「公」を敬うという日本人本来の美徳が失われた結果ではなく、旧秩序を「公」とは認めないという民衆の無意識の抗議であり、過渡期の狂熱だというのが私の見立てである。
歴史の潮流が生みだした狂熱を凝視しつつも浮かされず、過ぎ行く時代の何を捨て去り、何を守り残し、新しい「公」をどう形成するかという判断力が問われている。
（筆者は毎日新聞社編集局次長。）
当選後、テレビが映し出した杉村放言録のハイライトは「真っ先に調べたのは国会議員の給料ですよ」「ＢＭＷを買いたい」「早く行ってみたいですよ、料亭に」である。選挙中も、選挙後最初の１週間も、まったく注目されなかった青年は、これで一躍有名になった。
彼は、政党に勢いがあれば誰でも議員になれる小選挙区比例代表並立制の矛盾を一身に凝縮したような存在である。福岡１区（小選挙区）の自民党候補を選ぶ公募でふるい落とされ、比例代表南関東ブロックの第35位にランクされた。こんな下位での当選はありえないはずだったが、自民党が歴史的大勝を収めた結果、思わぬ議席を得た。
高校時代、国体（国民体育大会）テニスで優勝し、筑波大体育専門群に進学し、中退した。法律や経済を専門的に学んだことがなく、社会人としての経験も浅く、これが未熟な言動となって現れる。新聞がその不見識をたしなめ、ワイドショーはもっぱらからかいのタネにした。
ところが、メディアにたたかれ、自民党幹部に叱られるほど、かえって杉村人気が沸くという現象が出来した。言うまでもなく国会議員は公の問題を扱う選良である。以前なら言動の軽率な若手議員は世間のひんしゅくを買って退けられたものだが、今回はそうならなかった。無知・無教養と経験不足は問われず、古い硬直的な制度に挑む無垢なヒーローとしてもてはやされ始めた。
はじめ私は「子どもじみた放言を繰り返す議員も議員なら、おもしろがる支持者も支持者」だという義憤にかられ、これまで比較的抑制が利いていた日本社会のタガが外れてしまったのではないかと考えた。だが、事態を観察するうちに見方が変わった。杉村青年の未熟さについての評価は変わらないが、彼の人気とは「政党、官僚、マスコミという現代日本政界を構成する既成権威に対する民衆の破壊衝動」だと考えるようになった。
杉村議員に対する支持はおよそ論理的ではない。彼の言動を筋道立てて擁護する意見はほとんど見当たらないが、彼の清新さに対する感覚的な支持は大きな広がりをもっている。旧秩序を破壊する革命児の可能性に比べれば、言動の未熟さなど何ほどでもないということなのだろう。
人物の内面を問わず表面的なイメージで改革の旗手に祭り上げられたという点で、彼は田中真紀子元外相に似ている。元外相はその猛女ぶりから伏魔殿・外務省の改革に挑むジャンヌ・ダルクに擬せられ、一時人気を博したが、病的な毒舌と暴走によって外交に無用の混乱をもたらし、更迭された。彼女は政治的基軸を持たず、改革者を演じて喝采を浴びることにしか関心がなかった。
結局、同じことが繰り返されている。人々は黴の生えた旧秩序の破壊を渇望し、その渇きを癒すヒロイン（ヒーロー）として田中元外相なり杉村議員なりがもてはやされるのだが、彼ら自身は新秩序を建設するビジョンを持ち合わせていない。一連の混乱は「公」を敬うという日本人本来の美徳が失われた結果ではなく、旧秩序を「公」とは認めないという民衆の無意識の抗議であり、過渡期の狂熱だというのが私の見立てである。
歴史の潮流が生みだした狂熱を凝視しつつも浮かされず、過ぎ行く時代の何を捨て去り、何を守り残し、新しい「公」をどう形成するかという判断力が問われている。
（筆者は毎日新聞社編集局次長。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟