Tokyo Right-Wing Spotter's Sheet

The Right-Wing Series > Kudanshita > Spotter's Sheet > Yuko Tojo

In Tokyo the trucks are hard to miss. With their sides adorned with hinomaru flags and slogans proclaiming the divinity of the Emperor, these darkened fortresses on wheels might be parked in front of Shibuya's Hachiko or seen ripping down Yamate-dori through Nakameguro as anti-foreigner speeches and wartime anthems, fully brash and crackling, emanate from their mounted speakers.

Given that nearly each group follows this protocol it is easy to lazily label all of them as racist right-wingers living in the past. But that is not exactly true; these uyoku dantai (right wing groups) consist of many factions, each possessing separate views on the issues of the day.

To aid in the often cumbersome task of identifying one black truck from another, this week the Captain presents his informative yet compact Tokyo Right-Wing Spotter's Sheet. Whether strolling in front of the Kokkaigijido or wandering around Yasukuni Shrine, with this handy little guide you will never again suffer the embarrassment of not knowing the difference between a Dai Nippon Koshikai and a Nihon Kominto bus. Impress your family and friends with your new-found right-wing knowledge!

Name: Byakukosha

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues: The group routinely raises awareness of China's lack of informing its people of the development assistance provided by Japan and the heavy-handedness of its leadership.

Vehicles: Certainly on Tokyo's streets the Byakukosha have the sharpest vans and buses. Big, black, burly, and always sparkling, it is as if each has just rolled off the showroom floor (assuming there is indeed such a place).

Name: Taikousya

Leader: Shimizu

Membership: 700

Incidents:

Issues: Concerns include the international community's inflated death total during the Nanking Massacre - a claimed 200,000 to 300,000 deaths versus the 20,000 it sees as a more reasonable figure - and the lax approach Japan has taken with the increasing military strength of North Korea, whose neighbor South Korea has aligned itself with Russia to jointly produce a rocket defense system.

Vehicles: As far as truck design, the blue and tan rides that the Taikousya roll out are perhaps the most innovative. With a flat bed and a centrally mounted wall, on top of which an overhang provides shade against Tokyo's nasty summer sun, a member can grab a microphone and slip in back to begin blasting the group's message immediately after arriving at the designated location.

Name: Dai Nippon Aikokuto

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues: The group can often be found parked in front of the Russian Embassy in Kamiyacho demanding a return to Japan of the territories ceded to Russia in the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951.

Vehicles: Kanji characters are often in bold white on these blue vans and trucks.

Name: Nihon Kokuseito

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues:

Vehicles: Though only their small vans are shown here, the group rolls out large black buses. Both the Jeep and vans are adorned with multiple flags.

Name: Dai Nippon Kodosha

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues:

Vehicles: Like the Kokuseito, this group also takes to the streets in brown and black buses. The buses have a single speaker in front while the smaller calls have a pair protected by wire mesh.

Name: Dai Nippon Hokokai

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues:

Vehicles: The four mounted speakers, rooftop perch, and rear platform perhaps packages the greatest number of uyoku essentials onto one vehicle. To get a sampling of those speakers in action, click here for a recent tour stop in Kudanshita.

Name: Dai Nippon Koshikai

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents:

Issues:

Vehicles: With a large platform running the full length of its roof and covered windows and rear wheel wells for maximizing character display space, these mammoth buses are perhaps Tokyo's most intimidating vehicles. Speakers are mounted in the front and within the sides. Can you say Doppler effect?

Name: Nihon Kominto

Leader:

Membership:

Incidents: The group is infamous for ramming one of its vans into the Chinese consulate in Osaka three years ago and its alleged smear campaign waged against Noboru Takeshita as he ran for prime minister in 1987.

Issues: The members preach awareness of environmental problems and the need to stop communist power from strengthening. The consulate incident arose out of China's claim of sovereignity over the Diaoyu Islands.

Vehicles: Their white vans are easily identified by the black, saw-like teeth that ring the bases of each vehicle.

Name: Issuikai

Leader: Mitsuhiro Kimura

Membership:

Incidents: The group was formed in 1972 by followers of novelist Yukio Mishima, who committed suicide after failing to orchestrate a revolt within the Self-Defense Force.

Issues: On each Saturday, Kimura can be found just outside the East Exit of Shinjuku Station, where he will be sporting a snappy blue coat and voicing his opposition to U.S. foreign policy or his desire for the Imperial Family to return to Kyoto.

Vehicles: White vans with a platform for standing on top.

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