ニッポンの新常識 第１回(二カ国語)
「イスラム国」の蛮行 的外れな批判する人々は世界情勢勉強すべき
http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/domestic/news/20150204/dms1502041140005-n1.htm
夕刊フジで毎週火曜日の新連載「ニッポンの新常識」が昨日からスタートしました。初回の記事は上のリンクで読めます。
The first of my weekly columns was published in Fuji Evening News yesterday. You can access the Japanese version at the above URL.
英文の要望も多いので、以下に掲載します。
Many foreign readers have asked for an English translation, so I have provided it below.
Revisiting Common Knowledge①
I will forego formal greetings in this first column. Today I would like to write about the murder or two Japanese hostages by the “Islamic State.” I object to calling it the “Islamic State” because of misunderstanding which may occur since it is not recognized as a nation. Therefore, in this column I will refer to it as ISIS.
I pray for repose of the souls of journalist Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, who were murdered. The barbarism of terrorists cannot be tolerated. And there should be no mistake about who should be held responsible for this outcome.
It is true that in its video ISIS spoke of the policies or Prime Minister Abe. But anyone who uses the outrageous statements of ISIS as an excuse to criticize the government should have the self-realization that they thereby become the same as a co-conspirator in terrorism.
The goal of terrorists is to rule the world through fear and control the exercise of free speech. Therefore, sympathizing with their arguments or irresponsibly stirring up fear around the world provides covering fire for terrorists.
When a bad result occurs right after someone has tried something new, people tend to think “nothing would have gone wrong if we had just done it the old way.” They do not realize that underlying this way of thinking is a subconscious thought that “I just want things to go well for me.”
The world has undergone rapid changes in world affairs during the 70 years following the end of World War II. There is a high probability that Japan will not actually hold up for our children and grandchildren and future generations if we simply continue current policies. Precisely because he feels it necessary to provide for the future, Prime Minister Abe is very actively engaged.
People who render criticism from a misguided philosophy of nearsighted complacency about peace should study just a little about world affairs.
Beginning with demands for an exorbitant ransom payment, and continuing with changing conditions for releasing the hostages, there is a high probability that ISIS never had any intention of releasing the hostages.
There can be no doubt that Prime Minister Abe and King Abdullah of Jordan put forth maximum efforts. If anyone has a desire to help the terrorists, then go ahead and criticize these two heads of state.
I express my deepest condolences to the Goto and Yukawa families. However, I believe that these individuals entered this dangerous area fully prepared for the worst. It is not an area which one can go into without such resolve.
Incidentally, there was one intriguing incident which occurred in connection with this crisis. I will summarize for those of you who do not know about it.
A large number of Japanese took the original video demanding ransom payment released by ISIS and made it into new images by pasting on animation characters or funny videos, and then added a hashtag (an identifying key word used in Twitter) and posted them in Twitter. From the standpoint of Japanese social norms, these images can be considered at best to be “inconsiderate” or “moronic.”
However, part of the foreign media praised these activities highly “as an effective way to damage the terrorists.” Because they targeted only ISIS and not Islam as a whole, I think they had some good value.
Published in Fuji Evening News, Tuesday, February 3, 2015
http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/domestic/news/20150204/dms1502041140005-n1.htm
六本木男声合唱団倶楽部 ミュージカル「ウェスト・サイズ・ストーリー」
ＢＳ朝日(ＢＳデジタル５チャンネル)
2月15日(日) 25:00～27:00 「公演」放送日
Roppongi Men’s Chorus Club Musical: “Waist Size Story”
BS Asahi (BS Digital Channel 5)
Actual Final Performance: February 15, 25:00 ～ 27:00
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