Thursday, March 05, 2009

Robbed of Words

Impossible is it to restrain the blind, black fury I feel about the arrest of Ōkubo Toshinori -- and yet rendered nearly speechless am I at the flood of ever more wolfish and credulous reporting from the Sankei, the Yomiuri and even the usually anti-LDP Mainichi. Pell-mell is their run for the easy prize of fomenting disgust with Ozawa Ichirō, oblivious to the damage might be done to the country's democratic institutions and its democratic spirit.

The latest claim? That prosecutors have invoices -- or documents that served as invoices -- which Ōkubo sent to Nishimatsu Construction, outlining how much money the company should illegally donate through its ersatz citizen's groups.

Invoices for illegal donations? Directly to the company, not the donating dummy organizations?

I know that journalism in Japan is just another careerist job...but come on. It is not just taking notes, getting together with the members of the press club to collude on what will and what will not get into print, then typing out whatetever anonymous quotes one managed to glean from somewhere.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you don't think the DPJ is as corrupt as the LDP, you have your head way too far up...um, in the sky.

Don't get mad at the feeding frenzy of the Japanese media, which you have failed to chastise on the many occasions they have fed in a frenzy regarding LDP tomfoolery.

You are eating crow, and it's hilarious.

MTC said...

Steve -

To my knowledge I have never expressed a desire for the Democratic Party of Japan to win based upon any affection for or affiliation with any person or policy. I have never said the DPJ is a clean organization - it is a political party, nothing more, nothing less.

I plead guilty, however, to the charge of despising dishonesty and unfairness - and will continue to condemn any resetting of the rules of engagement through backdoor of the justice system--as should anyone who gives a damn about either liberty, Japan's citizens or both.

As for my purported eating of crow and the consequent hilarity you descry...