Opinion

旗旗のオピニオンは、社会問題や、日常生活でのふとした気づきなど、多様な視点を共有する場です。反戦、改憲問題、原発、経済正義などの真面目な話題から、アニメの考察や軽い雑談まで、幅広いテーマに対する意見や分析を通して、共に考え、行動するきっかけになれば幸いです。

Subcategory（サブカテゴリ）

2025.1.18 The People’s March: Protesting Trump in a Divided America

2025.01.19

Two days before President-elect Trump’s inauguration, a massive protest named the “People’s March” was held in Washington, D.C. Many in Japan mistakenly believe that Trump achieved a “landslide victory” in the 2024 presidential election based solely on the number of electoral votes. In reality, however, Republican Trump garnered 49.80% of the vote, while Democrat Harris...

Inside Japan’s Conservative Politics: Shigeru Ishiba and His Vision
: Read Prime Minister Ishiba's memoirs.

2024.11.19

A Hasty General Election Abandoning the Black Money Issue Shigeru Ishiba, a politician who was somewhat unpopular within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), became the party leader. Ishiba had previously written that he would only be chosen as party leader if the LDP found itself in dire straits. This is mentioned in his book, “Conservative...

Not-guilty verdict for innocent death row inmate Iwao Hakamada
: Fabrication of evidence acknowledged

2024.09.27

Today (2024.09.26), the Shizuoka District Court handed down a historic not-guilty verdict in the retrial of Hakamada Iwao. Hakamada, who had been on death row for a 1966 murder case, was acquitted after it was acknowledged that the evidence had been fabricated. Coerced Confession and Fabricated Evidence Acknowledged This verdict is of great significance for...

LDP Presidential Election 2024 – What Will Really Change?

2024.09.24

Recently, we shared a video essay by Osamu Ajioka on YouTube discussing the changes among constitutional revision advocates, written before Prime Minister Kishida announced his resignation and withdrawal from the LDP presidential election. Although the essay was penned in June, it provides a broad perspective on the situation as of September, tied to the LDP...

Massive Protests in France: Opposition to Right-Wing PM Appointment
: 100,000 Demand Macron's Resignation

2024.09.22

On September 21, 2024, in response to a call from the left-wing coalition, which became the largest force in parliament with 178 seats in the recent French general election, large-scale protests against the new cabinet took place across France, with more than 100,000 participants. The demand for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron, whose party...

Announcement：Emergency meeting to discuss the issue of hate speech against Kurds

2024.08.18

Recently, hate speech against Turkish Kurds residing in Japan has spread via the internet and other media, becoming a cause for concern. This urgent meeting is being held to immediately curb the spread of such hate speech. Hate speech is a severe violation of human rights, trampling on the dignity of those targeted and stripping...

Keep an Eye on Japan’s Constitutional Review Committee and Amendment Factions

2024.06.18

author: Osamu Ajioka Changes Among Pro-Amendment Factions – The Background to Watch The Asahi Shimbun dated June 4 reported that there is a movement to submit the constitutional amendment draft only by the pro-amendment factions in the current Diet. According to this article, the submission methods for the amendment proposal are: (1) The chair of the...

Hatake Hata celebrates its 20th anniversary : Apologies and Thanks

2024.05.01

Hello, this is Kosuke Souka. As ‘Hatake Hata’ celebrates its 20th anniversary, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our readers. Thinking that those born on the day this site was launched are now twenty years old fills me with both a sense of awe and a bit of fear. And to...

An unexpected lesson learned on the train: What one word to a foreign woman changed the attitude of the passengers around her?

2024.04.11

I’m Souka. After a long break, I’m resuming my posts as if nothing happened. I’ve been wanting to share a small experience that happened years ago on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo after work.

Movement Against Discharge of Radioactive Water in Japan

2023.10.09

Movement to address contaminated water is “cool” 　The words of the famous poem, “Neither the heat nor the cold will defeat you,” naturally came to my lips. It may have been our desire to make the hot summer a hot battle. But the heat of this summer was unusual. The government began discharging contaminated water...

I tried my hand at a video essay

2023.09.19

　Hi, this is Soka. I have been neglecting my blog, but I also have a lot of videos at hand. I’ve been thinking of editing them and publishing them, but the days pass by in no time. Editing videos is very hard, so I can’t do it when I’m mentally exhausted. 　I looked into various...

Commemoration of the Utoro Peace Memorial on its first anniversary: hope for coexistence overcoming hate.

2023.05.05

(Submitted by: Tsukasa Kyuji) During the Second World War in the Utoro area of Kyoto, Korean laborers were gathered and mobilized for the construction of a Japanese military base. After the war, they were abandoned and lived in poverty amid discrimination. Eventually, they were asked to evacuate by a Japanese company that had purchased the...

2022.05 Trailer ‘My Small Land’ – Coming of age of a Kurdish girl in Japan. A story that is right there.

2023.04.30

■ Back to anti-war video collection Official film website：https://mysmallland.jp/ 　The film’s fresh appeal despite being a social drama is due to the fact that it depicts the universal emotions that many people experience when they are young, such as 17-year-old Sarya’s struggle with her own identity and the gradual coming together of feelings with her...

Laugh out loud, ‘ego search’ on ChatGPT

2023.04.21

Even MPs are upset: defamation by AI ChatGPT is an interactive artificial intelligence (AI), but it has been in the news a lot outside the internet recently. I get the impression that many people on the internet are praising it like it’s ‘groundbreaking’, but I guess I’m just using it for fun at the moment....

2022.08 movie “WATASHITACHIHA NINGENDA!(We are human beings!) ” trailer

2023.04.16

■ Anti-War Videos Official film website Documentary film that approaches the reality of discrimination against foreigners, including official hatred against foreign schools, technical trainees, refugees and the Immigration Bureau. There are 210,000 foreigners living in Japan (as of June 2021). Over time, many Japanese people have now lived together with them in various parts of...

Shinjuku demo in solidarity with Ukrainian resistance 23.02.2023

2023.03.14

■ Back to the list of anti-war videos 　On February 23, 2023, the day before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was a rally and demonstration in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in solidarity with Ukrainian resistance. Organized by the Ukraine Solidarity Network.”

Feb 2022 “If You Can’t Be Strong, Be a Hero: The Yajima Kajiko Story” Trailer

2022.08.10

■ Anti-War Videos Official website：https://gendaipro.jp/yajimakajiko/ Women of the future should live with a mission.Mission is to use your life.Use your life by yourself.-Yajima Kajiko(矢島楫子) note:In this Japanese name, the surname is Yajima. In 1833, at the end of the samurai period, Yajima Kajiko was born in Kumamoto Prefecture Japan. The status of women at that time was so low...

2022.07.09 Anti-government protests topple the government in Sri Lanka

2022.07.11

■ Anti-War Videos In Sri Lanka, an island nation south of India, an anti-government demonstration by the people has toppled the government. Large-scale anti-government demonstrations had been going on for several months in the country, demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa. On July 9, in the face of the president’s refusal to resign in the...

Shinzo Abe was killed without taking responsibility

2022.07.09

I was surprised, as I’m sure you all were, too. Today’s news is that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed. My colleague, who was watching the news on his phone during a break at work, even told me out loud. I thought he had seen a common internet hoax until I checked...

04.23 Demonstration at Russian Embassy in Japan
: Putin stop aggression and war crimes now!

2022.04.25

■ Anti-War Videos NAJAT called for a rally and die-in at Mikawadai Park in Tokyo, and a march around the Russian Embassy, chanting “Putin stop aggression and war crimes now!” and a march around the Russian Embassy. Here is a report from ken23qu, who took the video. Activities on the day In addition to Mr. Hayashi...

Stop! Putin’s War of Aggression: Let’s Anti-War Struggle of International Solidarity!

2022.04.22

Putin, who invaded Ukraine, has always been an assassin (i.e., KGB), a believer in violence, and a thoroughgoing Great Russian nationalist dictator. This time, his invasion of Ukraine, which came at the cost of civilian casualties, has added another title to his list. He is now known as an aggressor and war criminal. We must...

Moon Administration vs. Prosecution – What Is Happening in South Korea Now?

2021.10.24

一応、下記のコモンズの記事で最低限の基礎知識はあったのですが、その後の推移を心配していました。韓国の検察改革は徹底的な抵抗の中でもひるまず、なんとか最後まで成し遂げられたということで、とりあえずはよかったと思います。定着するまでまだ安心はできないでしょうが。

The “Essence of Failure” in the Afghan Defeat: Symbolizing the fall of the American empire

2021.10.15

by Takashi Hara Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was besieged by the Islamist Taliban on August 15 and fell without a hitch. The Ghani regime collapsed, bringing to an end 20 years of the U.S. war on terror and symbolizing the defeat of the Afghan occupation. What should we see and learn from this?

Memories of War Coming with the Heat

2020.08.09

The Bon Festival in the Corona Disaster When the rainy season ends, it will be extremely hot. I know I complain a lot, but I still prefer hot summers. I think about the children whose summer vacation has been cut short by the Corona disaster. My grandchildren have gone to a summer camp again this...

Full Movie “Amateur Riot 2007” with English subtitles

2019.05.22

□ Anti-War Videos The “Amateur Riot” arose spontaneously from a group of young people with their own stores in the shopping district of Tokyo Koenji. Led by Hajime Matsumoto, an owner of a used electronics store, they have built a unique culture rooted in their sphere of life through Internet radio distribution and community activities....

My brother is in a vegetative state

2017.04.26

I was a little lost in personal matters, but I originally thought this was a place to write about personal matters, not a place to discuss public opinions or the state under the sun, so I will summarize what I think in my own way even though it may not be of interest to others....

War Legislation’ Enacted: Is Japan’s SDF Preparing for a US-China War?

2015.10.18

Japan’s new war legislation is raising concerns among peace advocates about its implications for East Asia.

Counter-Protests　¡No pasarán!　　差別　ヘイトスピーチ

Reflecting on ‘Counter-Protests’: Cooperation with the Right Wing?

2014.10.21

(This is an excerpt from an email I sent to someone, with privacy-conscious modifications.) 　Thank you, ○○, for sharing your thoughts.However, I can’t help but feel that this is yet another instance of “stubborn leftists complaining about the right-wing.” Such a stereotypical view strikes me as being more rigid and closed-minded. I am not opposed...

Let me say it again: Discrimination is not “freedom of speech.”

2013.07.09

I wrote at the end of the previous entry that I would “think about it a bit more,” so I tried hard to think it over in my own way afterward. However, with my limited ability, I couldn’t reach any particularly new insights. I did feel, though, that there are still many people who mistakenly...

30 Jun 2013, Shin-Okubo (Shinjuku,Tokyo) protest against racist ‘hate demonstration’ [video]

2013.07.01

□ Anti-War Videos Racists & Anti-Racists in Shinjuku,Tokyo 　A racist group called Zaitokukai paraded through the Shinjuku,Shin-Okubo shopping arcade, which is home to many foreign residents, holding up the Hinomaru flag. They shouted “Kill the Koreans!” and other abusive language to residents and shoppers, lying that “this is a legitimate demonstration and speech” and “I am...

Brilliant Japan-Korea racist confrontation

2013.06.24

先の暴行事件で現行犯逮捕されていた「在特会」の桜井会長が、取調べに素直に応じて（マスコミ報道）無事に短期釈放されました。それを記念して（笑）、本日はイギリスのネット記事より「韓国版の桜井」の画像を掲載してみます。以下、左が韓国バージョンで、右が本家日本の画像で日韓レイシスト対決の図であります。

How long will it continue? The Japan-Korea conflict surrounding Kim Yuna

2010.04.01

To a third party, it would probably seem like nothing but a ridiculous story. No, it’s just embarrassing. I wish both sides would stop it already. How long will it last? Japan and South Korea’s offensive over Kim Yona intensifies.-Chinese media reports Quoted from Nifty News According to an article from the Tai Tan Weekly...

2008–09 A Record of Japan Tent City for Jobless (with English Subtitles)

2009.03.02

Tent City for Jobless over the New Year’s Period was opened at Hibiya Park in Tokyo. Many temp workers who were laid off gathered. Produced by Video Press. Subtitled by the International Division of Labor Net Japan. This is a record of the “New Year’s Temporary Workers Village” held at Hibiya Park in Tokyo from...

2006 Money as Debt
: Revised Edition 2009 (Full Movie)

2008.06.21

□ Return to Anti-War Video Collection Top We believe that “money is created by the government.”We assume that “banks make profits by lending out deposited funds.”We trust that “the government created the monetary system to facilitate economic transactions.” However, economists have known for over a century that this is not the case. In reality, government-issued...

ある、うつ病ガン患者の一生 The Life of a Depressed Cancer Patient

Discriminators Using the Word ‘Crazy’: The Life of a Depressed Cancer Patient

2006.05.30

Yesterday, I read the story of a certain woman in a serialized article from the Kyoto Shimbun, and it made me think deeply. The article was written based on an interview at Iwakura Hospital in Kyoto. This Iwakura Hospital is what is commonly referred to as a psychiatric hospital. The Life of a Depressed Patient...

The transfer to the new domain “Bund.jp” is completed.

2006.04.27

Due to a number of server errors, we had to hold off on declaring the move complete, but now that things seem to have settled down, we will complete the site transfer from the existing ‘hatahata.mods.jp’ to ‘bund.jp’. With a fresh start, we are now thinking about new functions, sections, projects for registered users and...

Defying Forced Evictions: The Fight for Homeless Workers’ Rights in Osaka’s Utsubo Park (Jan 30, 2006)

2006.02.22

On January 30, I uploaded footage capturing the entire forced eviction of day laborers and homeless workers carried out by the Osaka City government and have also embedded it here. This outrageous act was committed by Osaka City in preparation for the “World Rose Convention,” which was being held to welcome members of the imperial...

2005.11.15 Action to Block the Bush-Koizumi Kyoto Meeting
: Opposition to the U.S.-Japan Summit for War and Base Expansion!

2005.11.20

On November 15-16, 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush visited Japan and held a U.S.-Japan summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Kyoto State Guest House. In response, on the evening of the 15th at 6:30 p.m., the “Kyoto Action Against the U.S.-Japan Summit for War and Base Expansion” was held at Maruyama...

I am eager to engage in exchanges with international blogs.

2005.05.24

　As you may have noticed, I am struggling to create Korean, English, and Chinese versions of the website, in addition to the mobile-specific page. Since I only have one to two hours a day to work on the blog, it’s progressing very slowly, but I managed to at least open the pages. While there’s almost...

Right-leaning friends?

2004.07.07

On June 23, 2004, I published an article titled “Yomiuri Shimbun is Quite Impressive!”. I received “rebuttal” emails from two site administrators whose sites were quoted in that article. Although these emails were originally sent as private messages, both administrators graciously permitted me to make them public, so I am reposting them here. Both administrators...

Opinion

Subcategory（サブカテゴリ）

2025.1.18 The People’s March: Protesting Trump in a Divided America

Inside Japan’s Conservative Politics: Shigeru Ishiba and His Vision: Read Prime Minister Ishiba's memoirs.

Not-guilty verdict for innocent death row inmate Iwao Hakamada: Fabrication of evidence acknowledged

LDP Presidential Election 2024 – What Will Really Change?

Massive Protests in France: Opposition to Right-Wing PM Appointment: 100,000 Demand Macron's Resignation

Announcement：Emergency meeting to discuss the issue of hate speech against Kurds

Keep an Eye on Japan’s Constitutional Review Committee and Amendment Factions

Hatake Hata celebrates its 20th anniversary : Apologies and Thanks

An unexpected lesson learned on the train: What one word to a foreign woman changed the attitude of the passengers around her?

Movement Against Discharge of Radioactive Water in Japan

I tried my hand at a video essay

Commemoration of the Utoro Peace Memorial on its first anniversary: hope for coexistence overcoming hate.

2022.05 Trailer ‘My Small Land’ – Coming of age of a Kurdish girl in Japan. A story that is right there.

Laugh out loud, ‘ego search’ on ChatGPT

2022.08 movie “WATASHITACHIHA NINGENDA!(We are human beings!) ” trailer

Shinjuku demo in solidarity with Ukrainian resistance 23.02.2023

Feb 2022 “If You Can’t Be Strong, Be a Hero: The Yajima Kajiko Story” Trailer

2022.07.09 Anti-government protests topple the government in Sri Lanka

Shinzo Abe was killed without taking responsibility

04.23 Demonstration at Russian Embassy in Japan: Putin stop aggression and war crimes now!

Stop! Putin’s War of Aggression: Let’s Anti-War Struggle of International Solidarity!

Moon Administration vs. Prosecution – What Is Happening in South Korea Now?

The “Essence of Failure” in the Afghan Defeat: Symbolizing the fall of the American empire

Memories of War Coming with the Heat

Full Movie “Amateur Riot 2007” with English subtitles

My brother is in a vegetative state

War Legislation’ Enacted: Is Japan’s SDF Preparing for a US-China War?

Reflecting on ‘Counter-Protests’: Cooperation with the Right Wing?

Let me say it again: Discrimination is not “freedom of speech.”

30 Jun 2013, Shin-Okubo (Shinjuku,Tokyo) protest against racist ‘hate demonstration’ [video]

Brilliant Japan-Korea racist confrontation

How long will it continue? The Japan-Korea conflict surrounding Kim Yuna

2008–09 A Record of Japan Tent City for Jobless (with English Subtitles)

2006 Money as Debt: Revised Edition 2009 (Full Movie)

Discriminators Using the Word ‘Crazy’: The Life of a Depressed Cancer Patient

The transfer to the new domain “Bund.jp” is completed.

Defying Forced Evictions: The Fight for Homeless Workers’ Rights in Osaka’s Utsubo Park (Jan 30, 2006)

2005.11.15 Action to Block the Bush-Koizumi Kyoto Meeting: Opposition to the U.S.-Japan Summit for War and Base Expansion!

I am eager to engage in exchanges with international blogs.

Right-leaning friends?

STOP! Soda Stream Campaign

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Anpanman and a Utopian Socialist Society – What If Communism Were Real?

2008–09 A Record of Japan Tent City for Jobless (with English Subtitles)

Movie “May 18” Trailer and Review – The Gwangju Uprising of Nameless Citizens

Discriminators Using the Word ‘Crazy’: The Life of a Depressed Cancer Patient

Reflecting on ‘Counter-Protests’: Cooperation with the Right Wing?

Moon Administration vs. Prosecution – What Is Happening in South Korea Now?

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Peace and Freedom for Palestine – Ikebukuro Demo

Action to Block the Bush-Koizumi Kyoto Meeting

Demonstration at Russian Embassy in Japan

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Inside Japan’s Conservative Politics: Shigeru Ishiba and His Vision
: Read Prime Minister Ishiba's memoirs.

Not-guilty verdict for innocent death row inmate Iwao Hakamada
: Fabrication of evidence acknowledged

Massive Protests in France: Opposition to Right-Wing PM Appointment
: 100,000 Demand Macron's Resignation

04.23 Demonstration at Russian Embassy in Japan
: Putin stop aggression and war crimes now!

2006 Money as Debt
: Revised Edition 2009 (Full Movie)

2005.11.15 Action to Block the Bush-Koizumi Kyoto Meeting
: Opposition to the U.S.-Japan Summit for War and Base Expansion!