Introduction: Liberalism as a Mask.
Since the end of World War II, Japan has positioned itself in the international community as a liberal nation, upholding "fundamental human rights," "sovereignty of the people," and "pacifism" in its constitution. Internationally recognized as a democratic nation, Japan stood alongside the United States as a member of the "free camp" during the Cold War. However, domestically, liberalism, while present in form, has become hollow in substance, functioning merely as a mask. Even when elections are held, voter turnout remains low, majority-forced votes have become the norm in parliament, and the media tends to "share the mood" rather than monitor power. People feel reassured that "we have a democracy because we have elections," and the media claims that "our democracy is healthy because we have freedom of speech." However, behind the scenes, the exclusion of dissenting opinions and pressure to conform reign supreme.
This masked liberalism is a continuation of the "fake modernity" of the prewar Imperial Constitution. While wearing the mask of constitutionalism, the Imperial Constitution absolutized the Emperor's supreme power. The Imperial Diet existed not to guarantee civil rights, but to raise funds for the war. Postwar liberalism, too, while formally proclaiming itself to be democratic, is in reality dominated by a subordinate structure. The lineage of fiction continues.
Section 1: Specific examples of the prewar imperial rule support system
The prewar imperial rule support system was established through forced total mobilization. The Imperial Rule Assistance Association is a symbol of this. Founded in 1940 under the Konoe Fumimaro cabinet, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association dissolved existing political parties and functioned as an organization to mobilize the people to wage war. Although a parliament technically existed, in reality it was integrated under the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and dissenting opinions were excluded.
The Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRA) mobilized the nation for war under the slogan "One Hundred Million Fireballs." Newspapers and radio became the association's propaganda tools, and dissenting voices were suppressed as "unpatriotic." For example, when the Pacific War broke out in 1941, newspapers unanimously proclaimed "holy war" and "self-preservation and self-defense," completely silencing any dissent to the war.
Furthermore, prewar parliaments existed not to guarantee civil rights but to raise funds for the war effort. During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan issued foreign bonds on the London market. British investors agreed to the issue on the condition that "the budget be deliberated in Parliament and transparency ensured." Parliament was a financial device designed to facilitate the issuance of foreign bonds, not to expand the rights of the people. While formally upholding constitutionalism, in reality it was a system for waging war.
In this way, the prewar Imperial Rule Assistance System was a total mobilization system for the war effort. Constitutionalism existed as a mask, behind which coercion and fanaticism reigned.
Section 2: Modern Workplaces.
Remnants of the prewar total-power system persist in modern Japanese workplaces. The Japanese management system, based on the "three sacred treasures" of lifetime employment, seniority-based promotion, and company unions, is a legacy of the wartime total-power system. This system drove postwar reconstruction and rapid economic growth, but it also restricted workers' rights.
Statistics reveal the reality. Non-regular employment accounted for approximately 20% of total employment in 1990, but expanded to approximately 40% by 2020. The average monthly income of working households fell from approximately ¥560,000 in 2000 to approximately ¥510,000 in 2011, and to the ¥480,000 range by 2022. Unionization peaked at 55.8% in 1948 and fell to 16.7% in 2019, while strikes have plummeted.
Furthermore, the existence of black companies has become a social issue. The suicide of a Dentsu new employee due to overwork is symbolic. Illegally long working hours became the norm, and a forced investigation was conducted for violation of the Labor Standards Act. Dentsu's "Ten Demonic Commandments" drilled into employees, saying, "Once you start something, don't let go, even if it kills you." This overlaps with the wartime "Senjinkun," and shows that the spirit of corporate fascism continues to live on even after the war.
Thus, while modern workplaces formally claim to be liberal, in reality they are dominated by the remnants of the wartime totalitarian regime. Workers have renounced their rights and are subordinate to corporations. Liberalism exists as a mask, behind which oppression and conformity reign.
Section 3: Inaction-type support system
The prewar support system was a forced total mobilization system. However, the modern support system is formed by "inaction."
People do not actively exercise their rights and avoid political participation. As a result, power is strengthened without criticism. Democracy retains its form but loses its substance.
This structure is linked to lifestyle conservatism. People believe that getting too involved in politics will put their lives at risk, so they avoid exercising their rights. Labor union membership declines, strikes disappear, and the right to organize is effectively abandoned. Electoral participation also declines, and voter turnout remains low. In this way, the foundations of democracy are weakened, and power is strengthened without criticism.
The inaction-based support system differs from the prewar coercive support system, but the consequences are similar. When people do not exercise their rights, power is uncritically expanded and democracy remains in name only. Before the war, people shouted "One hundred million fireballs," but today the system is supported by a "silent majority."
The year was 2010. I was on a JR train connecting the Tokyo metropolitan area and northern Kanto.
Section 4: The new imperial support system under US control
The modern Japanese system of support for the Imperial Japanese Army was formed under the control of the United States. Based on the Japan-US Security Treaty and the Status of Forces Agreement, a structure of uncritically accepting US policies was established. The prewar support for the imperial state was simply replaced by support for the hegemonic power of the United States after the war.
Political parties and the media refrain from criticizing U.S. military and political power and instead adopt a positive stance. The public is subjected to fearmongering about foreign enemies and accepts U.S. policies regarding the Cold War with China and Russia and the Ukraine crisis as the "national consensus." Thus, while Japan is formally a liberal nation, in reality it has been incorporated into a new imperialist system under U.S. control.
This structure differs in some ways from the prewar imperial support system. Before the war, the people were mobilized for war under the sovereignty of the Emperor, but today, under the Japan-US Security Treaty, the people are mobilized for US strategy. The difference is whether it is coercion or inaction, and the result is the hollowing out of democracy. People do not exercise their rights, but support the system through silence and conformity. Democracy exists in form, but in substance it has been hollowed out.
Section 5: Continuity with the prewar support system
The prewar Imperial Rule Assistance System, centered around the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, was a system that dissolved political parties and mobilized the nation for war. Newspapers and radio became propaganda organs for the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and dissenting voices were suppressed as "unpatriotic." Parliament existed in name only, but in reality it was a device for raising funds for the war effort. Even when foreign bonds were issued during the Russo-Japanese War, the existence of parliament was to fulfill accountability to financial markets, not to guarantee civil rights.
This structure continued after the war . Postwar liberalism exists in form, but in reality is dominated by a subordinate structure. While the prewar support system was support for the Emperor's sovereignty, after the war it was replaced by support for the United States. The fictional lineage continues uninterrupted.
Section 6: The psychology of the inaction-type support system
The prewar support system was based on forced total mobilization. However, the modern support system is formed through inaction. People do not actively exercise their rights and avoid political participation. As a result, power is strengthened without criticism. Democracy maintains its form but loses its substance.
This structure is linked to lifestyle conservatism. People avoid exercising their rights, believing that "getting too involved in politics will put their livelihoods at risk." Labor union membership declines, strikes disappear, and the right to organize is effectively abandoned. Electoral participation also declines, and voter turnout stagnates. In this way, the foundations of democracy weaken, and power is strengthened without criticism. The
inaction-based support system differs from the prewar coercive support system, but the results are similar. When people do not exercise their rights, power expands uncritically, and democracy remains in name only. Before the war, people shouted "100 million fireballs," but today, the system is supported by a "silent majority."
Section 7: The Security Treaty Protest and the Test of Democracy
The greatest political event in postwar Japan that tested the potential of democracy was the Security Treaty Protest. In 1960, students, citizens, and workers launched nationwide protests against the Kishi Cabinet's forced revision of the Japan-US Security Treaty. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered around the Diet building, and clashes with police occurred. This was the first time postwar democracy was visualized as "street power." However
, the Security Treaty Protest ultimately failed to prevent the treaty's ratification, and although the Kishi Cabinet resigned, the Japan-US security system remained in place. People felt powerless, believing that "nothing would change even if we raised our voices," and their desire to participate in politics gradually waned. In the 1970s, the anti-Vietnam War movement and the anti-US military base movement also lost momentum, bringing the "season of politics" to an end. The enthusiasm in the streets faded, and lifestyle conservatism rose to prominence. People became more preoccupied with consumption than politics, and while democracy remained in form, actual participation declined.
This process shows that, while the prewar support system forcibly suppressed dissent, after the war dissent disappeared through "inaction." The defeat of the Security Treaty protests symbolized the limits of postwar democracy and became the catalyst for the establishment of a "silent majority" in Japanese society thereafter.
Section 8: The Introduction of Neoliberalism and Social Change.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, Japanese society underwent major transformations with the introduction of neoliberal policies. The Nakasone Yasuhiro cabinet, under the banner of a "final settlement of postwar politics," promoted the privatization of the Japanese National Railways, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, and Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation. This divided the labor front and significantly weakened labor unions. The 1986 Worker Dispatch Law expanded non-regular employment and undermined employment stability.
Neoliberalism promoted "efficiency" and "competition" and was supposed to bring flexibility to society, but in reality it exacerbated inequality and instability. Non-regular employment accounted for 20% of the total in 1990, but reached 40% by 2020. Incomes shrank, with the average income of working households falling from approximately ¥560,000 in 2000 to the ¥480,000 range by 2022. The labor unionization rate peaked at 55.8% in 1948 and fell to 16.7% in 2019, while strikes plummeted.
In the process, workers effectively abandoned their right to organize, and basic labor rights were hollowed out. The perverse phenomenon of the Liberal Democratic Party government, which had always been hostile to the labor movement, brokering wage increases with business organizations also emerged. Labor unions became "government unions" and integrated with the government. This structure, reminiscent of the prewar "Sangyo Hokokukai" (Patriot Association of Industry), weakened the foundations of democracy.
The introduction of neoliberal policies, combined with the "lifestyle conservatism" of postwar democracy, alienated people from politics. This led to widespread abandonment of rights and silence, and strengthened the system of passive support.
Section 9: University Reform and Rightward Shift
One of the major turning points that institutionally steered Japan's postwar drift toward questioning the abnormality of the continued existence of the emperor system was the opening of the University of Tsukuba. Established in 1973 as a "New Concept University," Tsukuba University was the product of security measures aimed at eradicating student councils and forcing the Tokyo University of Education to close. Following the defeat of the Security Treaty protests and the "end of the season of politics," the state institutionalized the exclusion of leftists through university reform. The system of proxy collection of student council fees was abolished, student dormitories were demolished, and a surveillance system was put in place to minimize contact between students. In this way, "political indifference" was institutionalized, and universities were transformed into places that encouraged "conformity to the system."
This process was deeply connected to ties with the Unification Church and the LDP Seiwa Kai. Professor Fukuda Nobuyuki of the Faculty of Science, who was involved in the early management of the University of Tsukuba, was an ardent admirer of Sun Myung Moon, and while officially recognizing Unification Church-affiliated clubs on campus, he abolished the student council. University reforms were promoted as an "anti-communist, pro-American transformation university," and the university was positioned as part of an anti-communist regime supported by the CIA and the KCIA. The Tsukuba University model eroded postwar democracy from within and became the institutional starting point for rightward shifts.
Here, subordinates are intimidated with "I'll execute you if you're rude" and subordinates are expected to obey "whatever the lord wishes" -- a vertical social structure that has continued uninterrupted since the Edo period and has continued uninterrupted since the Meiji Restoration to this day. The university system reform is an extension of this vertical social structure, institutionalizing subordination to authority and strengthening the system that silences dissent. Amid this, Prince Akishino, one of the candidates for the next emperor, was admitted to the University of Tsukuba on recommendation in 2025, after graduating from the university's affiliated high school. University President Nagata did not hesitate to call it an "honor."
A message from a German baby boomer friend sharply illuminates this institutional rightward shift from the outside . He described Japan as "a strange country where the grandson of the war chief presides over a memorial service for the war dead." While the Nazis' war chiefs are permanently prosecuted, Emperor Hirohito was exonerated in Japan, and the imperial line continued. The anomaly of having the "grandson of the war chief" preside over a memorial service for the war dead and deliver a speech is shocking to Germans. It shows that the "system of irresponsibility" pointed out by a Japanese political scientist immediately after Japan's defeat in the war continues even after the war.
While Germany's Willy Brandt risked his life to promote apologies and reconciliation, Japan has never had a leader who "stood his own ground and didn't jump on the winning horse." The difference between Germany, with its culture of remembrance (Erinnerungskultur), and Japan, which has obscured war responsibility, is clear. Japan's media has continued to work to deny Emperor Hirohito's war responsibility and maintain the imperial system, and the people no longer perceive the abnormality as abnormal.
The rightward shift in the system due to the University of Tsukuba model and the abnormality of the continued existence of the Emperor System are two pillars that illuminate the hollowing out of postwar democracy from both within and without. The defeat of the Security Treaty protests, the introduction of neoliberalism, the rightward shift due to university reform, and the abnormality of the continued existence of the Emperor System are all a continuous development of "masked liberalism" and a "system of inaction-based imperial support."
Section 10: Independence and self-reliance of German judges
In the early 1980s, while I was in what was then West Germany, I was covering a murder trial in which a Turkish worker was the suspect. There was a sign in the courtroom that said "No photography allowed," but I really wanted to record the opening of the trial, so when I asked the court clerk, I was told, "You need permission from the judge."
I was able to freely enter the judge's office, without being blocked by a clerk like in Japan. When I knocked on the door, the presiding judge, though surprised by the sudden appearance of an Asian, welcomed me calmly. He immediately replied, "Filming is permitted as long as the defendant and prosecutor agree." I was shocked by the way he made his own snap decision without any instructions from his superiors or consideration for the Supreme Court's approval.
The next day in court, the presiding judge quietly said, "A Japanese journalist wishes to take photographs. I would like to hear the opinions of the defendant and the prosecutor." Both the defendant and the prosecutor agreed, and filming was permitted. This is what judicial independence looks like, this is what a free system looks like -- I felt firsthand the weight of a society where freedom and independence are firmly established as institutions.
This was in stark contrast to the way Japanese judges are placed under the control of the Supreme Court and have abandoned their independence. Here too, the difference between Japan and Germany in terms of "establishing freedom and independence" was clear. This was the most memorable event in my 77 years of life.
Conclusion:
The power prewar support system was established through forced total mobilization. The postwar Security Treaty protests tested the possibilities of democracy, but defeat led people to choose silence. Neoliberal policies since the 1980s have hollowed out basic labor rights and led society to a support system of inaction.
Japan is formally a liberal state. However, in reality, it is dominated by "mask liberalism" and a "new pro-war regime." Declining voter turnout, the decline of basic labor rights, media conformity, and inaction in political participation—these are signs of the hollowing out of democracy.
We can see through the masks and restore transparency and rationality. A society that chooses strong institutions over strong words, deliberation over snap decisions, and responsibility over pride is one that is not swayed by enthusiasm and is resilient to breakdown.