The Right Wing

The Japan Teacher's Union had a conference in downtown Beppu last weekend. I don't know much about what they do, but a few years ago they were in the news a lot for speaking out against the censorship of history in school textbooks. And I'd have to agree with that point of view; you can't pretend that wars and invasions didn't happen by taking references out of textbooks. Children should learn everything about how their country came to be - the triumphs as well as the mistakes.

Because The Japan Teacher's Union was gathering here for the conference, groups that encourage the censorship of textbooks were expected to converge upon Beppu as well to demonstrate against them. These groups are collectively known as Uyoku (literally translated as The Right Wing) and several people warned me about them.

"You should stay away from the downtown area this weekend."
"The Right Wing is scarier than the Japanese Mafia."
"It's better to stay out of Beppu."

Of course hearing those kinds of warnings is only going to make me want to go downtown and find out what the hubbub is all about. This kind of excitement doesn't happen in Beppu very often! Unfortunately I was pretty busy and didn't have the time. The closest I got to seeing any of The Right Wing was when I drove past downtown Beppu on my way to work.

Members of The Right Wing are notorious for driving around in minivans and buses with black-tainted windows and slogans painted on the sides, screaming their points of view through loudspeakers fixed on top of their vehicles. On my short drive past the downtown area I spotted over 30 of those minivans and buses, creeping along at a snail's pace and holding up traffic for miles behind. It was kind of like a picketing demonstration, except the picketers were in buses. From the loudspeakers fervent leaders were expressing their views, and I could hear the passengers' shouts of agreement in the background. Thank goodness I was on the other side of the road heading out of Beppu and didn't get caught up in all that traffic.

I don't understand why The Right Wing intentionally tries to be a nuisance. It doesn't seem like a very good tactic to spread their points of view. Everyone complains how they hate the loudspeakers, and I haven't yet met anyone who can tell me what The Right Wing is actually shouting about. Even if it's negative, I guess they want their presence to be known?