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#トランプ大統領大勝利 (Trump Victory) is trending on Japanese Twitter, and for interesting reasons too.
1) JP news media tends to only report on Trump when it's something about US-JP diplomatic relations.
2) All the "bad stuff" about Trump is never really reported.
1/13 https://twitter.com/Taka_Tora__hiro/status/1323573658325983234
1) JP news media tends to only report on Trump when it's something about US-JP diplomatic relations.
2) All the "bad stuff" about Trump is never really reported.
1/13 https://twitter.com/Taka_Tora__hiro/status/1323573658325983234
News programs in Japan are usually allocated a very small 30 min - 1hr window to report on things.
With the Weather, baseball, and Sumo taking up like 10mins of that, there's not much time to report on "less important stuff", which often includes foreign news.
2/13
With the Weather, baseball, and Sumo taking up like 10mins of that, there's not much time to report on "less important stuff", which often includes foreign news.
2/13
While "The US" is a superpower that dominates a lot of the news for English speaking countries, an American president doesn't really affect the day to day life of an average Japanese person.
JP also has a staunch "No politics in TV" way of thinking.
3/13
JP also has a staunch "No politics in TV" way of thinking.
3/13
That is, JP doesn't really have a "Fox News" vs "CNN/Comedy Central" kinda dynamic for reporting on political issues.
No matter where you sit on the fence, no one can deny the impact of The Daily Show, John Oliver etc in shining the spotlight on political issues.
4/13
No matter where you sit on the fence, no one can deny the impact of The Daily Show, John Oliver etc in shining the spotlight on political issues.
4/13
Japanese media doesn't have that. There are simply no shows that make people interested in political issues like that.
Which means most political issues are usually reported "neutrally", which is boring af, and reinforces the apolitical stance of many Japanese.
5/13
Which means most political issues are usually reported "neutrally", which is boring af, and reinforces the apolitical stance of many Japanese.
5/13
So what happens?
When you take away "nuance", "background information", "Non diplomatic issues" from Trump-related news, he actually becomes a very rosy figure in Japan.
His "bromance" relationship with ex PM Abe was reported very positively.
6/13
When you take away "nuance", "background information", "Non diplomatic issues" from Trump-related news, he actually becomes a very rosy figure in Japan.
His "bromance" relationship with ex PM Abe was reported very positively.
6/13
Japanese people liked watching Abe and Trump playing golf, meeting that PPAP guy, eating Japanese food etc.
And with Japanese "polite journalism", journalists never really ask the tough questions. It's all about "Did you enjoy your sushi Mr. President?"
7/13
And with Japanese "polite journalism", journalists never really ask the tough questions. It's all about "Did you enjoy your sushi Mr. President?"
7/13
But that's not all. One thing that really cemented Trump as the "good guy" in JP media was the way he spoke up about North Korean kidnappings of JP citizens in front of the UN (Video in first post).
Not a lot of world leaders talk about that.
8/13
Not a lot of world leaders talk about that.
8/13
Trump spoke about it in length and more detail that any world leaders before him, and Ivanka even wore the blue pin (a symbol for kidnapping victims) at events.
Performative or not, that was a very touching gesture for Japanese people.
9/13
Performative or not, that was a very touching gesture for Japanese people.
9/13
A lot of the "We love Trump" rhetoric on JP Twitter are by the Net-Uyoku (JP Right wing) who are very active on Twitter and the internet.
And yes, a lot of the support for Trump stems from hate against the China.
10/13
And yes, a lot of the support for Trump stems from hate against the China.
10/13
But Trump also enjoys a very "neutral" (by omission / non-reporting) position among Japanese people in Japan.
This doesn't mean Japan or Japanese people support or believe in his ideals.
It just highlights how news can affect the thoughts of people.
11/13
This doesn't mean Japan or Japanese people support or believe in his ideals.
It just highlights how news can affect the thoughts of people.
11/13
A lot of people in Japan are frustrated by modern JP news reporting.
Often known as 報道しない自由 (The freedom to NOT report), many segments of an issue are often not reported to keep news "simple and clean".
A lot of nuance is taken out via deliberate omission.
12/13
Often known as 報道しない自由 (The freedom to NOT report), many segments of an issue are often not reported to keep news "simple and clean".
A lot of nuance is taken out via deliberate omission.
12/13
Regardless of what the outcome is of the US Presidential election, the next president will once again, enjoy a "positive reception" from Japan, as long as they play golf, eat JP foods, and say good things about JP.
When your journalism is basic, it's that easy.
13/13
When your journalism is basic, it's that easy.
13/13
PS
One thing I haven't touched in my post is how the lack of faith in JP's "boring journalism" makes conspiracies and things like Qanon so enticing for some Japanese people.
When facts are "watered down" on mainstream news, people crave things with a "little spice".
One thing I haven't touched in my post is how the lack of faith in JP's "boring journalism" makes conspiracies and things like Qanon so enticing for some Japanese people.
When facts are "watered down" on mainstream news, people crave things with a "little spice".
Here's an example of TBS (Japan) and BBC in how they make their headlines and how this can skew the way Japanese people understand foreign affairs. https://twitter.com/OnTakahashi/status/1324577580884787201?s=19
