Nationalists abroad and patriots at home
Japan is viewed as sophisticated, exotic, economically advanced — a combination that makes it susceptible to reporting that oscillates between admiration and caricature.
Nearly half a century after Edward Said's influential book "Orientalism" was published, the core message it conveyed remains highly pertinent. According to Said, the "Orient" was frequently depicted by Western media, academia, literature, and institutions not as an array of intricate societies, but as the West's antithesis - irrational rather than rational, emotionally-driven rather than pragmatically-motivated, culturally-defined rather than strategically-oriented, and backward rather than modern.
Despite being one of the world's most technologically advanced democracies and hosting more American troops than any other U.S. ally, Japan has not entirely escaped this Orientalist framework. This framework manifests subtly in news reporting through narrative framing and language choices. Currently, your subscription plan does not permit commenting; to comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page. For more information, refer to our FAQ.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
