In an article in The Japan Times, famous animated movie director Hayao Miyazaki calls Abe’s move to revise Japan’s constitution ‘despicable’, writes Reiji Yoshida.
The director made a rare public appearance Monday in Tokyo and in responding to questions from reporters, Miyazaki trashed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s moves… “to build a new U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture, revise the pacifist post-war Constitution and reactivate nuclear power plants that have been idled in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima crisis.”
“I believe Prime Minister Abe wishes to leave his name in history as a great man who revised the Constitution and its interpretation, which I think is despicable,” Miyazaki said at a The news conference was held at his studio in Tokyo though hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Miyazaki acted as a representative of a fund to support Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga’s campaign against Abe’s plan to build a military base in Nago, northern Okinawa, to take over the functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, central Okinawa.
Miyazaki suggested the new military base should be built away from Okinawa, which was the site of fierce ground battles in World War II and was at the time under U.S. control and remained so until 1972.
The movie maker argued that Japan should apologize in a straightforward manner for its wartime aggression in China, and that both Tokyo and Beijing should stop playing dangerous political games over the history issue.
“(Japan’s) war of aggression into China is definitely something we should not have done. I believe (Japan) should clearly say that (the country) inflicted enormous damage on China and express deep remorse over it,” quotes Reiji Yoshida.
Miyazaki boldly stated that he dislikes “American culture” and the “American lifestyle” based on mass production and mass consumption and admitted that American culture had deeply influenced Japan.
Asked if Japan should operate nuclear power plants. Miyazaki immediately said no. “Operating nuclear power plants in this country, which has so many volcanoes and sees earthquakes so often, is simply out of the question,” he said.
