Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Archived for reader commentary on Debito.org at
www.debito.org?p=17605
(Now that the LDP's coalition partner Komeito has as of this morning reportedly backed out of their alliance, it's possible new coalitions will form with parties further right.)

Visible Minorities: Takaichi’s PM Election Changes My Projections – SNA Japan SNA (Tokyo) — I hate to do it, but I have to retract something I wrote earlier.

Debito's SNA column: "Takaichi's PM Election Changes my Projections", on how the recent election of Sanae Takaichi as leader of the LDP is in fact a huge step back for Japan’s democracy and diversity.
Shingetsu News Agency, Oct 8, 2025
shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/10/08/v...

Blog version with reader commentary at www.debito.org?p=17596

Visible Minorities: Japan's Rightward Swing is Overblown - SNA Japan Yes, there is a new far-right party in Japan. But at this point, the media hype about Sanseito is sensationalism, as what it’s offering is neither new nor well-planned.

Food for thought: I make the case that depicting Japan's July UH Election results as a "rightward lurch" is a bit overblown. I'm not saying ignore Sanseito. But wait a couple more elections b/f we can justify the media hype. Sanseito is saying nothing new. shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/08/26/v...

Anchor site for comments at www.debito.org?p=17585

Visible Minorities: Viewing DOGE from the Inside - SNA Japan Interview with a civil servant to get an insider’s perspective on what’s going on at DOGE.

Debito's SNA Visible Minorities column 68: “Viewing Trump’s ‘#DOGE reforms’ from the inside”, where I interview a civil servant in the US Government on how the bureaucrat purge is affecting them (July 24, 2025)
shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/07/24/v...

Version for commentary with links to sources on Debito.org at
www.debito.org?p=17578

Visible Minorities: International Tourism Has Been Good for Japan - SNA Japan Short-sighted criticisms about Japan being “overtouristed” may spoil things. Don’t let the debate backfire into racialized policymaking.

My latest SNA VM column 67: "International Tourism Has Been Good for Japan", where I debunk the arguments about Japan being "overtouristed", and caution against countermeasures (dual pricing, etc.) that are becoming racialized policymaking
shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/06/19/v...

SNA SCOOP: My “Letter from Canada”, weirdly threatened by invasion by Trump Admin. Includes screen captures of racist/secessionist merch from a company owned by FBI Director Kash Patel. This means high-level USG official directly profiting from sowing secession in another country! debito.org?p=17549

Version for comments and links to sources at www.debito.org?p=17546

Visible Minorities: It Can Only End in Violence - SNA Japan We have an American president who has declared himself king while the legislative branch abdicates its oversight powers, and the judiciary grants immunity.

My recent SNA column 64: “It can only end in violence” (Feb 26). A POTUS ignoring the rule of law means somebody will get hurt; that's why we have rule of law. But in a society that goes to extremes like USA, only extreme blowback makes the pendulum swing back shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/02/26/v...

Please Participate If You Can. Kindly Repost! 💙😎

Version with graphics and links to sources at www.debito.org?p=17529

Visible Minorities: Trump's Weak Mandate - SNA Japan What happened was less a matter of support for Trump and more a worldwide repudiation of incumbents.

My latest SNA col 63: "Trump's Weak Mandate" (Jan 20, 2025). Overview: 47's term has been called an “overwhelming, historic mandate.” Untrue. I make the case his narrow victory was more a worldwide repudiation of incumbents. Don't fall for the fatalistic spin.
shingetsunewsagency.com/2025/01/20/v...

Anchor site for comments and links to sources at
www.debito.org?p=17522

Visible Minorities: Electing The Joker - SNA Japan How being bad became a sales point in choosing a US political leader

Debito’s SNA 62: “Electing the Joker” (Dec 10 2024): Depicting the “villain as hero” over decades in popular culture has influenced politics and made Trump more electable. Consider a theory that being a "Bad Guy" has actually become a sales point.
shingetsunewsagency.com/2024/12/10/v...

My book "Embedded Racism: Japan's Visible Minorities and Racial Discrimination" (Lexington Books, 2nd Edition 2022) is completely revised and updated with 100 extra pages of new material. To see what's new inside, and download a flyer to take to your library to get a copy debito.org/embeddedraci...

Version with links to sources at debito.org?p=17518

Just joined. Looking forward to an informative, more positive, and less Musky smell to my media environment.

Visible Minorities: An Obituary for Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori - SNA Japan What Fujimori did with power became a cautionary tale—of how an outsider, once let in, can corrupt everything.

With the devastating US election results, consider my SNA obit on authoritarian Alberto Fujimori (Nov 2, 2024), and the destruction of Peruvian democracy by mixing political machines w family ties. Portentous, as the Trump Family likewise is retaking power. shingetsunewsagency.com/2024/11/02/v...