In his Feb. 21 letter, "The root of national identity" (a response to the Feb. 16 Japan Times article "Ishihara laments loss of national identity"), Timothy Khaki makes a number of valid points. But, actually, rebutting quotes by Shintaro Ishihara is like shooting fish in a barrel. Most of what the Tokyo governor has to say is wrong on so many levels that the main difficulties to a rebuttal lie in time and space constraints: There is just so much to object to. Very little of what Ishihara has to say could be described as informed, intelligent, tolerant or sane.
There are larger questions -- beyond the meaning of his bizarre statements -- that Ishihara raises. First of all, why does he still have his job? Second, how could so many Tokyoites vote for an ultranationalist who spouts extreme rightwing historical revisionism along with blatant racism? Last, why don't Japan's media, opinion leaders and politicians take him to task for the things he says and what he stands for?
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