The Japanese media’s latest take on Korean crime
Some visitors to this site claim that I am unfairly pro-Japanese in my updates, ignoring Japanese racism/discrimination and other issues. I’ve even had readers accuse me of being Japanese and pretending to be a foreign blogger. I can assure you that such satements are nonsense. Does believing that irrational anti-Japanese nationalism in Korea exceeds irrational anti-Korean nationalism in Japan make me a mouthpiece of the small minority within Japan that care about nationalism?
Anyway, here are some recent clips from Japanese news reports that can be interpreted as anti-Korean. No, they aren’t depicting the Japanese occupation of Korea as something that Koreans should be thankful for, but they are focusing on crimes commited in Korea and Japan by Koreans:
First we have a news report on violence towards bus drivers in Seoul. The surveilance camera within the bus doesn’t seem to stop the assaults. I don’t really think it shows the Japanese media as anti-Korean, since videos of shocking crimes in America are much more common. Maybe it is part of a big conspiracy to show how Japan is much safer than other countries?
Next we have part 1 of a news report about Korean pickpockets. This part features video footage of pickpockets targeting fans during the massive World Cup soccer match viewings that took place in Seoul.
Part II of the report makes an alarming claim: the Korean pickpockets are coming to Japan! They also interview a man who shows the various methods used by Koreans to conceal weapons. The naive and helpless Japanese don’t stand a chance against these skilled criminals. I have to admit, if I was a Korean pickpocket, I would probably try to rob the Japanese. Having one’s pocket picked in Japan is so rare that nobody would suspect it. The crowded stations and streets of major cities would probably be good locations…
Anyway, there you have it. Reports by the Japanese media focusing on Korean crime. One could claim that they are only reporting truthful and accurate events, but one could also say that they are selectively reporting these true events while leaving out others(such as crimes by Japanese people). I wouldn’t be surprised if such reports didn’t contribute to the the kind of opinions Japanese visitors have posted in the Nakata Hidetoshi ass-kicking update, in which some claim that most Koreans in Japan are criminals. What do you think?
