Tokyo Governor Assails Critics, Says Remarks Were Misunderstood

Lashing out at critics and the media, Tokyo’s foot-in-mouth governor said Wednesday that he was misquoted, misjudged and misunderstood when he warned that foreigners could riot after Japan’s next major earthquake.

Gov. Shintaro Ishihara’s comments earlier this week about non-Japanese Asians--along with his choice of wording--have sparked widespread criticism. The controversy has also rekindled sensitive feelings about World War II and Japan’s past treatment of other Asians.

“I feel sorry for the people of [South] Korea and North Korea, but I feel that you should be the one apologizing to them because of your bad reporting,” he told journalists at a packed news conference at Tokyo City Hall. “All you have to do is report accurately what I say.”

Ishihara, coauthor of the explosively nationalist book “The Japan That Can Say No” and no stranger to controversy, sparked the latest firestorm Sunday when he told members of Japan’s military that they should prepare to handle rampaging foreigners after a natural disaster.

In particular, Ishihara’s use of the word sankokujin to describe potential rioters has angered Japanese civic groups and Koreans. The term, largely unknown by younger Japanese until this week, was common half a century ago. Although it literally means people from a third country, it referred specifically to Koreans and Taiwanese who remained in Japan after the war. As such, it connotes lower-status people from less developed nations, analysts say.

“This is a racist word,” Japanese novelist Miyazaki Manabu said.

In defense, Ishihara turned Wednesday to his dictionary, which he said defines sankokujin as nothing more than a foreigner. He added that people should stop reading so much into the term.

Japanese analysts point out, however, that Ishihara is a noted writer known for his nuanced understanding of the language. His 1956 novel, “A Season of the Sun,” won Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa literary prize.

“Mr. Ishihara is very intentional in his use of this word,” said a spokesman for the General Assn. of Korean Residents in Japan, a group with ties to North Korea. “I feel very angry toward him. It’s unthinkable that riots would take place in Japan.”

Because of events that followed Tokyo’s last major earthquake, Ishihara’s statements carry particular resonance among the 700,000 Koreans living here. In 1923, the capital’s residents went on a rampage and killed several thousand innocent Koreans after falsely accusing them of poisoning wells and starting fires. Overall, more than 100,000 people died in that year’s Great Kanto earthquake.

The comments come as South Korea and Japan are stepping up trade and cultural ties and putting relations on their best footing in decades and as the two Koreas prepare for a historic summit. “His remarks were entirely going against the current spirit,” said a senior official at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Many Japanese were quick to condemn Ishihara’s remarks and expressed hope that those abroad would not see them as mainstream. “He lacks any understanding of history, that Japanese discriminated against Asians,” said lawmaker Tsujimoto Kiyomi. “I’m so embarrassed to be Japanese.”

She and several celebrities staged a protest and called for Ishihara’s resignation, while about 40 protesters held a rally outside City Hall.

Ishihara’s highly unusual meeting with the media Wednesday started with him snapping at his own spokesman for suggesting that reporters raise their hand with questions. “I called this press conference,” he said, “so let me run it my way.”

Several heated exchanges between Ishihara and the Japanese media quickly followed as each side defended its actions and lobbed salvos back at the other, a rare sight in a society where confrontation is rare and the establishment and mainstream media tend to work hand in glove.

And even as Ishihara called for calm, he leveled new accusations, suggesting that foreigners were so numerous and dangerous in parts of Tokyo that even the Japanese crime gangs are afraid. And he accused the Chinese of exporting drugs and ruining the lives of young Japanese.

But although Ishihara is known for his controversial statements, he is not so easily dismissed in Japan. “I know he’s seen as a right-winger abroad,” said Noriko Yoshizawa, 31, a worker in the import business. “But he also tries a lot of new things, which I like.”

Ishihara won the Tokyo governorship last year with an overwhelming majority after campaigning on the slogan “The Tokyo That Can Say No.” And his early days in office have earned him grudging respect, even from some critics.

His straightforward leadership style and direct approach stand in sharp contrast to most Japanese leaders, who have few ideas and little presence. “I really like Ishihara. He says what he thinks,” said Hajime Yamamoto, a 57-year-old building manager. “Most Japanese politicians are afraid to say anything.”

In rapid succession, Ishihara has proposed several changes appreciated by taxpayers even as they make the central government squirm.

One is a call for fiscal prudence and more realistic budgets. This comes as the central government continues its massive spending spree to prop up the economy--a program that affects local governments because public works projects traditionally involve burden-sharing.

A second, related initiative is a plan to tax Tokyo-based banks on revenues rather than profits. The move has angered banks, which say it’s unfair and could open the door to “me-too” taxation by every city, town and water district in Japan. “I’ve already heard Osaka is planning a similar tax,” says Nozomu Kunishige, a bank analyst with Lehman Bros. Japan. “It seems to be very difficult to stop.”

But consumers have applauded the move. Many believe that the industry’s $71-billion taxpayer bailout last year rewarded arrogant managers for failure. “Taxing the banks is good because they’ve taken so much public money and should give some of it back,” said Yoshizawa, the import business worker.

Ishihara’s comments this week follow a host of other controversial statements he has made over the years.

Causing the biggest splash, his 1989 bestseller accuses the United States of bigotry and arrogance. But he has also angered China by referring to it as Shina, another term with colonial overtones, and by visiting Taiwan late last year just as China and the U.S. were negotiating a trade deal. Beijing regards Taiwan as sovereign territory.

For many voters in Tokyo, however, Ishihara’s right-wing rhetoric is ultimately less of a concern than whether he can deliver the goods. “He should be more careful with his comments,” said Koji Yoshida, 30, an apparel wholesaler. “I think he’s all right as long as he lives up to his promises.”

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Makiko Inoue of The Times’ Tokyo Bureau contributed to this report.