Writing Topic
Consider the following
statement. Scandals are useful in calling our attention to important problems.
Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Support your response by including
specific reasons and examples.
☆Let’s Think
1.
Choose one of the following
scandals or a scandals you know, do some research on it, and share what are the
important problems about it with your partner or group members.
-
Shinzo Abe’s and other LDP
members’ connection to the Unification Church (Moonies)
Problems: separation of religion from politics, election fraud
-
Tokyo Olympics bribery scandals
Problems: anti-trust, contract rigging, corruption
-
Takaichi vs. Konishi: “I’ll
resign if the documents are not fabricated.” – Sanae Takaichi
Problems: suppression
on freedom of speech, freedom of journalism, voter suppression
-
Mio Sugita’s “LGBT couples are
not productive.
Problems: discrimination, eugenics, hate speech, failure of
Abenomics (Neo-liberalism)
-
Prime Minister Kishida’s son’s
shopping tour during his official visit to Europe
Problems: nepotism, second generation politicians, hereditary
politicians
-
Scenes from “Barefoot Gen”
and statements on nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll will be removed from
textbooks for peace education in Hiroshima
Problems: militarization, cancellation of human rights, disarmament
-
Yusuke Narita’s proposal of
collective suicide of elderlies as a solution to the problem of the aging
society
Problems: human rights, eugenics, aging society, failure of
Abenomics (Neo-liberalism), elitism
-
PASCO’s announcement that it is
going to sell cricket bread
Problems: government subsidies used based on cronyism, food loss
☆Hints for
Points
Agree
l
Scandals of public figures
attract attention to important issues.
When those in power or those who are close to power are involved in a
scandal, people will notice their problems.
l Big scandals reflect the problems of the society, and their revelations
will lead to soul-searching.
It is said that scandals related to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
show his cronyism and crony capitalism, from aborted charge of the rapist of
Shiori Ito to huge discount of the land sale to Moritomo Gakuen to corrupt
public money flow to solar energy brokers like Lully Miura’s husband.
Disagree
l The media play down scandals of those related to the administration.
Misconducts of those in
power are seldom taken up. Even when there is a scoop, it will be covered up. For
example, when TV stations, including NHK, report scandals of the members of the
ruling party, they do not mention which party the individual belongs to, and people
will be kept ignorant of the corruption. In this way, people will never be
educated about what is going on in their society, unless they consciously
educate themselves.
s
l
People tend to forget about the
issues once the media stop taking up a certain scandal.
Scandals of the Unification Church, such as spiritual sales and
collective wedding, were well-known in the 1990’s, when the practices were
reported on television and in magazines every week. However, over the past 20
years, the media did not take them up and people forgot them, while the victims
kept suffering.
☆Sample
Paragraph Development
【Main
Idea】The media make society consume scandals as
entertainment by scapegoating the powerless.
【Supporting Detail (general)】To sell their
magazines or raise the view rates, the media play up minor mistakes of those
who are not in power and make people focus on the shocking part of the scandal.
This distracts the public from important problems like the fact that they are
exploited by the vested interests.
【Supporting Detail (specific)】For example,
the media wrongly sensationalized the false charge of a Democrat Ichiro Ozawa,
then Chief Cabinet Secretary of the short-lived Democrat administration, in
2010 and ended his political life. Ozawa was a decent politician who was trying
to allocate the public money to the people instead of the establishment, but
the media-driven Ozawa-bashing killed his attempt, the first attempt to make a true
democracy in the Japanese history. The public did not even notice that a window
of opportunity to improve their lives was lost.
【Follow-up】50 years ago, political scandals would
lead to resignation or arrest of those in power and corrupt, raising public awareness
of important issues and strengthening democracy, but those days are gone.
【Conclusion】Now, following a scandal
is no more than a hideous pastime that can distract attention to important
problems.
