Nationalism: a hot issue in the Tokyo gubernatorial election?

Mainichi Shinbun reports that Shiro Asano, DPJ candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial race, has decided to make challenging Gov. Ishihara’s nationalist views a part of his election campaign. Ishihara has stated that he believes all public school teachers should have to stand and sing the Japanese national anthem, which some of them associate with Japan’s imperialistic past. Asano has a different view:

“When I become governor of Tokyo, I will abolish the policy of coercing teachers to stand and sing the ‘Kimigayo,’ and punishing those who do not,” Asano told a news conference.

The debate comes at a sensitive time in Japan when Abe is pushing for greater patriotism in national schools and a bigger role for the military at home and overseas. The trend has spurred concern in neighboring Asian countries, which see it as a resurgence of Japan’s militaristic past.

Asano said Monday his administration would reverse what he called Ishihara’s legacy of discrimination against “weaker members of society” and his “dictatorial style of governing.”

“Unless somebody stops Ishihara now, I feel that the situation not only in Tokyo but in Japanese politics as a whole may get entirely out of hand,” warned Asano, a former governor of Sendai prefecture in northern Japan.

Asano’s remarks will probably be looked upon with support from many in Japan’s foreign community, especially the English-speaking netizens who frequently complain about Ishihara’s views of foreigners, referring to the governor by the derogatory term “blinky” (which mocks the fact that he always seems to be blinking when he talks). Ishihara is also under attack from a group of French, Canadians, and Japanese who have filed a suit against the Tokyo Government because of official remarks in which he called French a “failed international language” because it cannot “be used to count numbers.” Is Ishihara’s end near, or will voters express their support for his policies, and possibly overlook his occasional controversial statement, by re-electing him yet again?