TY - JOUR
T1 - Communication totalitarianism in Japan
T2 - ‘Decontextualisation’ and ‘Recontextualisation’ and the digital communication environment
AU - Yang, Junxiao
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - In Japan, young people are becoming increasingly apathetic about politics, while at the same time they are experiencing a rightward leaning and a growing sympathy for totalitarianism and authoritarianism. To understand this contradiction, we need to look at the digital communication environment in which they engage in political discourse. One of the most representative opinion leaders in this regard is Hiroyuki Nishimura. In recent years, Hiroyuki has become widely known as the ‘King of Refutation’ and is immensely popular among the young generation. He is very active in political and social issues, arguing in a logical and neutral manner. However, despite his enlightened mode of argumentation, his arguments have been perceived as accommodative to totalitarian and authoritarian perceptions. This paper argues that at the heart of this mode of refutation is a process of ‘decontextualisation’ and ‘recontextualisation’ which has resulted in reducing the complexity of the issue, making it comprehensible to the majority while oppressing minorities. And this mode of refutation and the processes of ‘decontextualisation’ and ‘recontextualisation’ are at the centre of the various digital communication platforms that he operates and that have become hubs of political communication around the world: 2channel, 4chan, Nico Nico Douga and YouTube clips. In this sense, the totalitarianism and rightward leaning of the young generation is not due to a specific ideology but is strongly conditioned by the communication environment. ‘Communication totalitarianism’ can be used to describe the totalitarianism and right-wing tendencies taking place in Japan.
AB - In Japan, young people are becoming increasingly apathetic about politics, while at the same time they are experiencing a rightward leaning and a growing sympathy for totalitarianism and authoritarianism. To understand this contradiction, we need to look at the digital communication environment in which they engage in political discourse. One of the most representative opinion leaders in this regard is Hiroyuki Nishimura. In recent years, Hiroyuki has become widely known as the ‘King of Refutation’ and is immensely popular among the young generation. He is very active in political and social issues, arguing in a logical and neutral manner. However, despite his enlightened mode of argumentation, his arguments have been perceived as accommodative to totalitarian and authoritarian perceptions. This paper argues that at the heart of this mode of refutation is a process of ‘decontextualisation’ and ‘recontextualisation’ which has resulted in reducing the complexity of the issue, making it comprehensible to the majority while oppressing minorities. And this mode of refutation and the processes of ‘decontextualisation’ and ‘recontextualisation’ are at the centre of the various digital communication platforms that he operates and that have become hubs of political communication around the world: 2channel, 4chan, Nico Nico Douga and YouTube clips. In this sense, the totalitarianism and rightward leaning of the young generation is not due to a specific ideology but is strongly conditioned by the communication environment. ‘Communication totalitarianism’ can be used to describe the totalitarianism and right-wing tendencies taking place in Japan.
KW - 2channel
KW - CMC
KW - Depoliticization
KW - communication
KW - rightward leaning
KW - totalitarianism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173080362&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85173080362&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09502386.2023.2261969
DO - 10.1080/09502386.2023.2261969
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173080362
SN - 0950-2386
VL - 38
SP - 105
EP - 122
JO - Cultural Studies
JF - Cultural Studies
IS - 1
ER -