This weekend, I visited Sapporo, Hokkaido for an errand. Unlike the heavy rain in the Tokyo metropolitan area at the same time, it is a little cold at night in Sapporo, but it also feels like early summer during the daytime. In the midst of all this, it has become a ‘turning point’ for the area. After having this ‘turning point’, as I had some time, I walked to JR Sapporo station. Then, when I saw a crowd and walked towards it, a familiar personage was standing firmly for ‘the street speech’. It was Taro Yamamoto, the party leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi. As you know, I normally do not comment on the people who are in charge of the form of government, in other words, the democratic system which rules to decide things by ‘quantity’. It is because the world of ‘quantity’ is subordinate to the world of ‘quality’, and I and my Institute (IISIA) work on things in those worlds of ‘quality’. While leadership in the world of ‘quantity’ is ‘the form of government’, leadership in the world of ‘quantity’ is based on born relationship, and here, it is called ‘national polity’ in comparison with the former. Usually, our Institute discusses what we see from the view of ‘national polity’ and what is attempted there. Therefore, once again, basically, we are not concerned with the movement of the form of government.

https://haradatakeo.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_2847.mov

However, as I excessively got interested in how the world looks like when looking at it from the view of the ‘form of government’, I decided to listen to the ‘street speech’ of Taro Yamamoto. Its party’s ‘street speech’ is quite unique, that they played jazz band whilst giving speeches. In addition, they use digital signage for not only ‘speeches’ and ‘talks’ but also ‘graphs’ and ‘illustrations’ to lead listeners to convince. This thorough ‘denunciation’ speech style cannot be described enough but is comfortable and touching. The ability of the ‘speaker’ is conspicuous, and I would like to confess here that I often listened attentively to his ‘live’.

However. Despite the ‘ecstasy’ in the right brain’s world, the left brain has constantly put the brakes on that ‘ecstasy.’ The argument he made was unstable for the party’s name, in other words, it consisted of ‘Showa’ rather than ‘Reiwa’.

The argument that ‘the first thing the politicians have to do is to revive Japan with the giant economic power and in order to become this, they need to use the defence expenditure to the economic measures instead’ sounds really convincing. However, they stepped into the ‘abolition of consumption tax’, and moreover, they consistently called for ‘scatter, benefits’ in agricultural administrations, industrial policies and so on. Who on earth is going to secure the funds to cover the ballooning costs of benefits?

If I asked so, he and ‘his companions’ would definitely answer like this. – ‘Japan was originally the country of manufacturing. The current political way of being is the one which has destroyed this original way of being. So, the first thing is the benefits. We have to give benefits to civilians to recall for consumption, otherwise the Japanese prosperity in economic will be regained. ‘

However, I want to confess that there is myself who could not agree with them at all when I saw the reality of this ‘speech meeting’ even when I listened to these ‘arguments’. It is because people who were gathering to ‘speech meeting’ were not those ‘blue-collar’ who supported or supporting ‘manufacturing Japan’. There were ‘pretentious’ men who would rather work for a knowledge-intensive industry or digital industry and middle-aged women who have both time and complaints. Nonetheless, I understand they are only a part of the people who are interested in this party. However, despite saying ‘scatter, benefits’, they do not say ‘everyone has to return to the blue-collar past to revive manufacturing in Japan. What should we do? I would like to express that unbeknownst to me, I even got ‘frustrated’ by his speech, which did not show any industrial policy at all.

There were exclaiming questions that ‘many lands in Japan have been taken by Chinese. Mr. Taro Yamamoto, please expel those traitors from the Japanese Diet!’. On the other hand, he kept answering ‘The problem is the US which Japan has consistently subordinated to after the previous war, rather than China. Beginning from the problem of the Yokota Approach Control Area, anyway, Japan is America’s bidding. Most of the members of Diet too. That is the problem’, and not facing to answer the ‘question’. Looking at such situations, I even had an expression of ‘fifth column’ in my brain.

In any case, it was a very spirited ‘speech meeting.’ Under the sweaty weather, each staff really worked, or lobbied, well and performed.

‘You said benefit, but who bears the financial burden? You said Japan will never face financial collapse, but how can you explain there would not be ‘default’ ahead for the current unprecedented phenomenon of a sharp rise in ultra-long-term bond interest rates? Even if there were no such situations, in the future, in what kinds of industries and skills would you make more than one hundred million Japanese people eat with? It is okay to search for ‘pretentious’ Jazz, but how in detail would you realise peace, safety and prosperity in Japan while ‘war economy’ having been exercised in the global financial capital, and many countries falling into the situation of making their lives out of it?’

Now that the steps toward a ‘grand coalition’ government between the two giants, Ishiba and Noda, are clearly and openly underway to orchestrate a ‘default’ uproar this summer (summer 2025) led by the US, I could not help but think this on the streets of Sapporo. In the midst of it, it was reported that the greater emperor of Showa (Showa Emperor) said in anguish to Shigenori Togo, the minister of foreign affairs at that time, ‘it might even take 300 years for reconstruction in Japan after the A-bombs were dropped’ from the unpublished historical document. Because of that grievously and tragic decision, Japan succeed on the miracle economic recovery, accomplishing ‘high economic growth’ and became the world model. One example of this negative impact is now beginning to appear in the form of the ghost of ‘Showa nostalgia’ among the ‘Reiwa Shinsengumi’, a group that is solidifying its position in the Diet as a persistent objector.

Our country will fall as far as it can from here. The momentum towards this goal continues. It won’t be long before angry people take to the streets, fists raised. However, for that very reason, I now strongly believe that we must remain calm and future-oriented. What is required in our country, and in the global society as a whole, is a thorough rethink, and even more so, a ground-up design and reframing. In that sense, I intend to continue to forge ahead on the path that I am meant to follow.

1^st June, 2025, at my residence in Tokyo, with just over a month left

IISIA, Founder/CEO&Chairman/Global AI Strategist

Written by Harada Takeo

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What did you think of this column? We will be holding the ‘2025 Summer IISIA Seminar’ in Tokyo on Saturday, 12th July, to foresee the future together with you, including this issue, based on the views of our institute. Click here now for details and to apply! (Jump to website)