Popular TV personality and model Rola recently tweeted her opposition to new U.S. base construction in Okinawa. The comment was immediately derided by people who said celebrities like her had no business in political debates. Although these critics may support base construction, they didn't engage Rola on the issue. They attacked her, not her views.
This rhetorical method is a characteristic of netto uyoku (internet rightists), as put forth in a new book by Koichi Yasuda, "Uyoku no Sengoshi" (“A Postwar History of the Right Wing”), which explains how the movement has evolved, particularly since the emergence of the internet.
In a J-Wave radio interview with fellow journalist Osamu Aoki in November, Yasuda outlined the differences between classic right-wing activists — the kind who drive big, black trucks blasting martial music — and the anonymous internet species. To him, although classic right-wingers sometimes resort to extortion and other underhanded methods of persuasion, they are typically serious about their patriotism and target ideas rather than individuals. They support freedom of expression and don't discriminate against marginalized groups. They would never engage in hate speech.
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