The Significance of the Contribution Made by the Yukan Fuji Newspaper to the Establishment of the “General Sudirman Statue” within the Ministry of Defense and the Publication of the Flower-Laying Ceremony
International political scientist, Mr. Genki Fujii
I am very sorry to hear that Yukan Fuji is closing down.
Of the so-called “major media”, Yukan Fuji was the media with the broadest range of freedom of speech. I was able to say things here that I couldn’t say in other media. In that sense, it was a very valuable media, and I sincerely regret its closure.
From the perspective of an author, I think it was an extremely convenient and excellent source of information that provided the latest information in a format that could be picked up casually at station kiosks and convenience stores. In my field of expertise, I think I provided the latest information on international politics and economics, as well as trends in the United States.
I was often asked to comment, and I also wrote many short, intensive series of articles that ran from Monday to Friday. I remember each of the various themes very clearly.
I wrote many articles on the comfort women issue, and today it is clear that the so-called “comfort women issue (forced removal of comfort women)” was a fabrication by anti-Japanese forces in Japan and South Korea. If my articles in this newspaper have contributed even a little to the establishment of a correct historical interpretation, as a writer I could not be happier.
In addition, I also contributed articles on the comfort women issue when I traveled to the United States and Australia to give lectures. When I went to Cupertino, a city on the outskirts of San Francisco, and directly negotiated with the mayor about the issue of establishing a comfort women statue, and obtained a firm commitment from him that no comfort women statue would be erected, I felt a great sense of joy as a Japanese citizen, along with my friends who accompanied me.
In addition to the serial articles, I also had the opportunity to write about other activities I was involved in.
One that particularly left a strong impression on me was the flower-offering ceremony for the statue of General Sudirman, which is still located in the Ministry of Defense. General Sudirman was a hero of the Indonesian War of Independence who was educated by the Japanese military, and he became the first commander of the national army. The Indonesian government was grateful to the Japanese military for their contribution to the country’s independence, and they presented the statue of General Sudirman to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
However, the statue was kept in storage for a long time and never saw the light of day.
Critic Kase Hideaki and his comrades worked to have the statue installed on the grounds of the Ministry of Defense so that it would be seen by many people. I served as the secretary for the first flower-offering ceremony, and at that time, Yukan Fuji introduced the event with photos. I remember that the Indonesian ambassador at the time also attended the ceremony in the rain and gave a very moving speech.
I feel that Yukan Fuji was like a comrade who fought through the tough times with me. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the staff and readers who gave me this valuable forum for expressing my views.
Genki Fujii is an international political scientist. He was born in Tokyo in 1952. After graduating from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University, he completed a doctorate in political science at Harvard University. After working as a researcher in the Japan-US Relations Program at the Harvard University’s Institute of International Affairs, he returned to Japan. He is the head of the membership-based online video distribution service “World Forecast”. He is the author or co-author of numerous books, including “Taiwan: Understanding Taiwan, Understanding the World” (Direct Publishing), “The Final Showdown Between the US and China: America Will Expel China from the World” (Tokuma Shoten), and “Fujii Genki Forecast 2025” (WAC).
