Kirk with a note on the governor’s race. The gentlemen in the picture is MOHRI Hidenori (毛利秀德). The bad news is that he’s taking an anti-foreign stance. The good news is that I don’t think he has any real change of winning.
— quote from interview in Kumanichi — Q: Your motto is “Politics by the Japanese, for the Japanese” but there are many foreigners living in Kumamoto. A: Appropriate measures should be taken for those who are currently living here, but when it comes to the use of various systems such as welfare and health insurance, there should be a distinction between Japanese and foreigners. The number of foreigners is increasing due to the country’s immigration policy, and there are many foreigners and foreign capital buying land in Japan. If this continues, Japanese culture will disappear. If I become governor, I will also consider stopping the prefecture’s efforts towards multicultural coexistence. — end of disturbing quote — Translated by ChatGPT with a little tweaking by Kirk https://kumanichi.com/articles/1352081
— original Japanese text — －モットーは「⽇本⼈による⽇本⼈のための政治」です。県内には外国⼈も多く住んでいますが。 「今住んでいる⼈には、それなりの対応が必要だろうが、⽣活保護や健康保険といった各種の制度の利⽤については⽇本⼈ と外国⼈で線引きすべきだ。国の移⺠政策で外国⼈は増えており、⽇本の⼟地を買う外国⼈や外国資本も多い。このままでは ⽇本⼈の⽂化もなくなる。知事になったら、県の多⽂化共⽣の取り組みを⽌めることも検討する」 — end original Japanese —
I’ll write a bit more about the race for the governor’s office some other day.