SODOM & GOMORRAH: Not all is orderly in Japan. Beneath the surface, the locusts have begun stirring.
There has been much talk of the relative calmness and order in Japan after the recent quake. Granted, there has been. Nobody’s rioted, looted, or otherwise engaged in a general panic. Even now, as conditions continue to be difficult and the country continues to be rocked by quakes, there is order.
But beneath the surface, rumors of uprising have begun. The Socialist Worker Online, a self-described revolutionary anti-capitalist paper in Britain, has stated that the Japanese nuclear crisis has created social problems in the country. Distrust of the government and the feeling that the media has ignored the issues facing displaced people is leading to a renewed interest in anti-government politics.
This is echoed by The Diplomat which points out that the media is seen as in concert with the status quo powers. The fact that papers immediately sided with Washington instead of the Japanese government suggested that Japan was overseen by America and had little autonomy of its own. As is typical, the magic dies once the man behind the curtain is revealed, and the Japanese have struggled against external forces telling them what to do and a government that seems ineffective at solving the current crisis.
People will continue looking for answers. The media can’t be trusted. The government can’t be trusted. Washington, their real masters, are too far away. As the political parties in Japan come together, the revolutionary groups will have a common enemy – and a common explanation. The order is illusory.