The contents and appearance of comments made by Tomonami Nishimura, a member of the Constituent Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Lower House Budget Committee on April 10, have caused a stir on the Internet. ◆Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a portrait drawn on a teacup of successive prime ministers [multiple photos] In her speech for the LDP presidential election, Prime Minister Takaichi referred to the deer problem that has arisen in her hometown of Nara. He said, “There are outrageous people who kick deer in Nara with their feet. There are people who beat them and scare them. If there are people who come to Nara as tourists from abroad and intentionally try to damage something that Japanese people cherish, something has gone too far,” he said. Councilor Nishimura asked about the basis for this statement. Prime Minister Takaichi explained that he had actually warned an “English-speaking person” who was kicking a deer’s leg. However, Councilor Nishimura also cited an example of a Japanese man assaulting a deer, and asked if this was a problem only for foreigners. Prime Minister Takaichi responded that it was not a problem only for foreigners, but that he was focusing on public relations because of the language barrier. Councilor Nishimura then turned his attention away from deer and back to social networking sites. He claimed that “uncertain information on social networking sites is misleading and slanderous to foreigners. Prime Minister Takaichi emphasized that his comments were “not based on uncertain information,” and stressed the importance of having “rules” for living together with foreigners. In response, Councilor Nishimura sarcastically remarked, “I wondered where you were going with this, since you were talking in so many different directions,” and explained that the true meaning of his own question was questioning why he had “only mentioned [in his speech] about foreigners. Ultimately, Councilor Nishimura asked for a retraction of his statement, but Prime Minister Takaichi refused, saying that he had made the statement with a certain basis and that he could not retract it. The questioning regarding deer lasted approximately 15 minutes. In response to these responses, the Internet, including X and Threads, was notable for its condemnation, with comments such as “He is persistent about the deer in Nara,” “Is this an agenda item to talk about now?”, “He is persistent,” “What is he trying to say?” and “What does this have to do with the budget?
Chunichi Sports