In September, the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party was on the verge, and the "power game" in Japanese politics once again attracted global attention. Five candidates showed their magical powers, but one of them relied on a "deer" to get out of the circle. It was not a policy or a vision, but a sika deer in Nara Park.
Cao市早苗, the far-right figure known as "Abey Love", did not talk about economy or security in the public debate, but instead accused foreign tourists of "massacre".
What's even more interesting is that this operation has triggered a "rumor wave" in Japan. Many Japanese people have stood up to speak for the Chinese, as if they had stepped on the accelerator of this extreme nationalism, but it's not that simple.
Takaichi Sanae's election script
Cao市早苗 is not a new face, she is the old man of Japanese politics and a firm supporter of Shinzo Abe in his lifetime.
Her political stance is clear, her far-right colour is strong, and she has been advocating “reforming the constitution”, “strengthening the army”, “anti-China”, and a few politicians who dare to openly say in front of the media that “Japan should choose the United States.”
And this time, she obviously wanted to play a “emotional card”, while others were discussing Japan’s economic recovery, social retirement, and energy strategies at the Democratic Party’s candidate debate, but she spoke of her “deep concern” for Narnia.
Not only did she listen and sing, but also claimed that "foreign tourists have frequently abused deer in recent years", and even mentioned the internet's "tourists climbing birds to make references up" and other absurd rumors, although she is not a bit of a name, but the context clearly points to China and South Korea.
This is not an impulse, but a sophisticated political operation. She knows that xenophobia in Japanese society has risen in recent years, especially the return of Chinese and Korean tourists after the epidemic, which makes some people feel dissatisfied.
In the name of "deer", Takashi acts as "xenophobia", regards Nara deer as a symbol of "cultural purity" and portrays foreign tourists as "saboteurs". This narrative technique is not the first time that it has been used.
Nara's net red lawmaker,原田将大, was successfully elected by hype "foreigners feed deer and eat plastic", and his script is now moved to the national stage by high markets.
Only this time, she tried to use a deer to take the direction of a party, or even the whole country.
She doesn’t talk about inflation, doesn’t talk about pensions, doesn’t touch nuclear pollution, bypasses all the tricky topics, picking up “good incitement” topics, because she knows voter anger is easier to mobilize than coolness, and the deer is the best emotional carrier.
Red flags behind rumors
The remarks of the high market, not only the election campaign, it touched a nerve in the depths of Japanese society, the hidden pain of history.
Takaichi's "deer abuse" remarks are reminiscent of the national disaster after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, when a strong earthquake struck Tokyo and society was in chaos. Some people fabricated rumors that "Koreans poisoned wells".
As a result of the rapid reaction of Japanese officials and civilians, not only the North Koreans were killed, but even the Chinese in Japan were slaughtered, and that bloody liquidation is still the pain of the heart of the Chinese and Korean people.
Ironically, China was one of Japan’s rescuers at the time, and in Japan’s most difficult times, Chinese society donated donations from all walks of life, and even ships sent food and medicines, in exchange for rumor-induced massacres and silence.
In Japan's history, the more it is at the stage of social unrest and economic downturn, the more likely it is to generate "sacrifice for sin", to direct the export of problems to the outside, to create external enemies, is the right wing's usual means.
The trick of the high market, as it was a hundred years ago, only this time changed the object, formerly North Koreans, now Chinese tourists.
If this kind of rhetoric is acquiesced or even supported inside and outside the party, it is not just an electoral strategy, but a foreshadowing for real social antagonism, where hatred can be fomented, but once ignited, the consequences are often unchecked.
Civil awakening and national reality
Surprisingly, the “battle of the deer” in the high market did not arouse the anticipated populist orgasm, but instead invited a wave of “reckoning” in Japanese society.
Narnia Deer Love Society soon came out to clarify, saying that no foreign tourists received reports of deer beating, and many netizens also began to "repair the account".
And this "spontaneous rumor" is not because the Japanese suddenly "feel sincere" to Chinese tourists, but they realize that the extreme route of the high market if it really comes up, it may not be a "coolness" but a "cost".
Japanese people may be used to reading "anti-China jokes" on the Internet, but it is no joke to choose a president who writes jokes into policies.
Takaichi Sanae's coming to power means that relations with China may regress in an all-round way, that the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait issues will be intensified, and that Japan may be trapped into the front line of the Sino-US game. Is Japan really ready?
More realistically, China's strength has long been less than it was before, with the Fukushima ship down, the East Wind missile deployment, the landing of large domestic aircraft ... all this makes the Japanese strategic community clear.
In contrast to its "hard support on the mouth" rather than "heart weight", Japan is not without a hawk, but it is not without a calculator.
This also explains why the forces that originally added fuel to the flames are now eager to "clear their responsibilities". They understand that playing with fire can keep warm or burn themselves.
Political drama displays the breaches of society as a whole.
From Nara Deer to the throne of president, takaichi sanae successfully created a huge "political event".
But behind this farce is the Japanese right wing's long-term manipulation of people's emotions, and it is also the pull between reality and fantasy of the whole society.
She used rumors to create momentum, but she didn't expect that what really detonated was people's fear of the "extreme line". Japanese society is not without xenophobia, but it is not without a bottom line.
When populism went to extremes and went into the water with national interests, those who had applauded began to panic.
This “flurry of rumors” is actually an instinctive self-protection, not noble but very real, which shows that Japanese society still has a desire for reason and order, even if this desire appears in a deer.
Goldman Sachs may still be running for voting tickets, but her "lease the deer against China" operation, left not the applause of victory, but a warning that politics can be packed, but history will not forget.
The relationship between China and Japan should not be taken away by rumors, and the responsibility of politicians is to solve problems, not to create enemies.
reference
High-Speed Morning Sun also took the deer of Nara's talk, local response: no evidence is foreign tourists violate the deer 2025-09-23 16:33; Observer Network
Japanese social networks show xenophobic speech after the earthquake Official calls for screening rumors Press News 2018-06-22