『邪馬台国はどこですか？／鯨統一郎』 第５話「維新が起きたのはなぜですか？」
明治維新にはね、とても大きな謎があるんだ。．．．つまりね、明治維新があってもなくても、日本の政策には何の変化もないんだよ。
Thank you for the detailed article on Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's prime minister, by Michael Schuman. According to the article, situation in Japan seems very chaotic, but my reaction to the article is, to put it simply, what's the matter?
As Schuman wrote, Hatoyama sold himself as a change agent during August 2009 general election, and he really has been a change agent, only that he is not necessarily the goal of such a change. Liberal Democratic Party, which has held the power since 1955, finally lost its reason of existence in its entirety, and will never go back to power. And there is nothing wrong with Democratic Party of Japan's motto, "We will be spending not on concrete but on people." Hatoyama's (or DPJ's other leaders') standing not to visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine is a good idea, since premier's visiting Yasukuni does not matter to 90% of Japanese people, it only matters to the leaders of China's Communist Party. Therefore, Japan's policy will not change whether Hatoyama lasts long in office or loses office this May or July. Japan simply needs change.
The issue of Futemma base in Okinawa can be viewed not only as Hatoyama's homework but as that of all Japanese people. After all, Japanese people, including the Okinawans, hate to have American bases in Japan. The seemingly chaotic situation has only revealed such situation to the global public. Japan will need a short-term countermeasures, but after that, it will be beneficial to everyone to take enough time, starting now, for Japanese people to decide.
今日の「龍馬伝」は勝海舟との出会いの回。
一昨年の「篤姫」に続き、勝海舟がドラマの展開上重要な役割を果たす。
もともと人気安定した戦国物（信長・秀吉・家康）に比べて視聴率が取れないと言われていた幕末大河が「篤姫」・「龍馬伝」では高視聴率を叩き出している。出演者の人気や脚本の良さはもちろんあるだろうが、現代の日本が70年前（1940年頃：戦争と敗戦）←140年前（1870年頃：幕末・明治維新）のサイクルを反映して、人々の幕末への関心が高まっていることが原因だと思う。
実は勝海舟が一人で明治維新を行った？
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鯨統一郎『邪馬台国はどこですか？』（創元推理文庫） 必読書です。