(the) Road to the Deep East

Last night, on May 8th, at the Diet Building in Nagata-cho, Chyoda-ku, a 20 year-old member of Self Defensive Forces tried to kill himself by cutting his abdomen with a short Japanese sword. He was wearing his uniform. The Police arrested him for a trespassing. The man wasn't injured seriously, and when he was caught by a guard, she screamed, 'Bushino Nasake, Shinasete kure!!' (Understand the spirit of samurai , let me kill myself!!' He left some messages to his family, so the Police is investing the details of his motive.

(article from Sankei)
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/crime/080508/crm0805082353042-n1.htm

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... it is 2008, right?

If it were Tokugawa era, or before WW2, it is not so strange this type of Japanese samurai who has guts and displays them when he dies appears and kill himself to assert something to the government. Or, if it were in 70s, soon after Mishima Yukio committed seppuku (1970), I can still understand him.

But it is 38 years after Mishima's death, and almost all Japanese have already lost their spirits of samurai. (95% of Japanese were descendants of peasants, so they are usually not eligible to call themselves as such though.) It is very comprehensive that a member of SDF dances Haruhi dance in front of the Diet Building in 2008, but it is beyond my imagination that this man killed himself with short Japanese sword, claiming that he is samurai in 2008.

And his 20 years old. It is very natural a man from this generation reads Naruto or plays Pokemon, but it's odd that he reads Mishima, although there are a lot of so attractive entertaninments in Japan. Decades ago, there are a lot of educated common people who read Misima, but today, it is very difficult to find a person who read read Kawabata or Mishima at their 20. I have to say, even students who belong to upper 15% and study literature don't read. (As far as my knowledge 10 years ago is concerned).

Of course, it is too early to judge that he was influenced by Mishima - he might just watch Kimutaku's movie, 'Bushi no ichibun' , and was influenced by it. Or, he might just read of Samurai manga, like Shigurui. But the style of this seppuku, from a member of SDF in its uniform, has to remind me of about him and his works.

And if he just tried to kill himself for a problem, he didn't have to do it in front of the assembly hall. So I think this was the political suicide. What did he want to claim to the government or emperor?

Coincidentally, now Hu Jintao is visiting Japan, so did he get angry about Fukuda's timidness? Or, did this Mishima reader try to protest against degenerated Akihabara culture these days?

I'd like to wait the result of the investigation, but there's one thing for sure,
Not every young Japanese today is otaku , there is still a samurai-wannabe like him.