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What is the Aim of Nippon Kaigi, the Ultra-Right Organization that Supports Japan's Abe Administration?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2025
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Nippon Kaigi [The Japan Conference], established in 1997, is the largest right-wing organization in Japan. The organization is a major supporter of the current Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and both Japanese and foreign media report that Abe, and many of his cabinet, are prominent member of its Diet Members League. Despite Nippon Kaigi's influence on governmental policies of Japan, the organization was little known to the general public until 2015. In 2016, however, numerous books and magazine articles focusing on Nippon Kaigi were published, some becoming best sellers. This created a “Nippon Kaigi boom” in the publishing world.
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References
Notes
1 Original Japanese article published in the December 2016 issue of the monthly magazine Peace Movement [Heiwa Undō].
2 At least eight books that include Nippon Kaigi in their titles were published in 2016-7, in addition to special issues of magazines and newspapers.
3 See Tawara Yoshifumi, “Kyōiku Shuppan Shōgakkō Dōtoku Kyōkasho Mondai ni Tsuite” (About the Problem of Moral Education Textbook for Elementary School Students by Kyōiku Shuppan).
4 See Carl Goodman, “The Threat to Japanese Democracy: The LDP Plan for Constitutional Revision to Introduce Emergency Plans” on the danger of an emergency clause. As for the LDP proposal to introduce a family protection clause as part of Article 24, the proposed language makes the family, not the individual, the basic unit of the society, and requires family members to help each other (which could lead to decreased governmental assistance for struggling families, childcare and elderly care.) See “Nippon Kaigi calls for Constitution to define family, cites 'sazae-san'as Japan ideal.” The Mainichi, November 3, 2016.
5 Nippon Kaigi's book sales website.
6 Aoki Osamu, “Koike Yuriko shi, Nippon Kaigi honryū kara hazureta aikokusha.” [Ms. Koike Yuriko, a patriot who is off from the mainstream Nippon Kaigi.] AERA, November 14, 2016.
7 “Koike says no to eulogy for Koreans killed in 1923 quake.” The Asahi Shimbun, August 24, 2017.
8 The requirement for the use of reign era names, instead of the Western calendar years, would signify that it goes back to prewar practice, and its association with the imperial reign is particularly problematic, especially when it is required by law.
9 The word, “yokusan,” used by Tawara here to explain these rightwing organization is used in the case of the pre-war Taisei Yokusan Kai, the Imperial Rule Assistance Organization.
10 As of September 2017, the organization's chairman is Nishioka Tsutomu, and Takahashi Shirō is the vice chairman.
11 Currently the organization has no chairperson.
12 The nine people were: writer Inoue Hisashi (deceased), philosopher Umehara Takeshi, writer Oe Kenzaburo, constitutional scholar Okudaira Yasuhiro (deceased), activist and writer Oda Makoto (deceased), critic Kato Shuichi (deceased), writer Sawachi Hisae, critic Tsurumi Shunsuke (deceased), and activist and the wife of former Prime Minister Miki, Miki Mutsuko (deceased.)
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