Chapter 355 I’m going to visit Ishihara, please make the arrangements!
Zhang Chao was shocked, thinking that such a big media would not incite public opinion like this, so he clicked on it and found that it was a post in the “Yahoo Forum”. Because many people followed it, it was displayed on the homepage.

Although Zhang Chao does not understand Japanese, one can still tell the anger of the poster through the limited Chinese characters. However, the content of the following comments is completely unclear.

I couldn’t find a reliable translator for a while, but suddenly I remembered that the female general of “Qingjiyuan” Ogiwara Miho spoke very good English, so I rang the bell and called her in, and asked her to translate the post into English so that I could understand the general idea.

It was also the first time that Miho Ogiwara received this kind of “task”, but her good professional sense allowed her to quickly adjust her state and seriously translate the contents of the discussion thread for Zhang Chao.

After listening for a while, Zhang Chao was surprised to find that not many people agreed with the views expressed in the main thread. More Japanese people viewed the matter with a mentality of watching the fun, and some even thought that Ishihara was the one who should be “punished by heaven”.

The main post content is roughly:

[Gentlemen! A national humiliation occurred in Ginza today! Chinese writer Zhang Chao used a vicious metaphor to provoke Ishihara-san to have a stroke. This is a terrorist attack on the spiritual leader of the Yamato nation! This person used “male host” to insult politicians. It is simply a cultural poison arrow shot by China at Japan! We demand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately revoke his visa and expel him back to his country! ]

The responses were much more interesting:
[Uncle, wake up, your Ishihara-san is already 75 years old, right? Isn’t it normal to have a stroke? What’s wrong with “male host”? Our industry pays 380 billion yen in taxes every year, which is much cleaner than the political bribes that Ishihara received~]

It’s obvious that he’s a beggar in Kabukicho.

[Although I don’t agree with Zhang Chaosang’s vicious metaphor…but Mr. Ishihara cut the child medical subsidy last month. If you have a stroke, it would probably be the real “heavenly punishment”, right? (LOL)]

She looks like a housewife.

[Why didn’t you say “Heaven’s punishment” when Ishihara-san cut welfare? We unemployed people are the ones who should be “punished”, right? Tokyo has become a garbage dump for middle-aged people.]

He should just be unemployed.

[People in Osaka said they had a lot of fun watching the show~ A Tokyo master was scolded by a Chinese guy (it would be better if he died), it was more interesting than the “X-JAPAN” concert! We suggest that Zhang-san come to Dotonbori next time, we will treat you to all the takoyaki! (laughing)]

If you were to ask who would be the happiest when something bad happens in Tokyo, it would undoubtedly be the people of Osaka.

[In fact, everyone in the office is secretly cheering… If Ishihara’s “Tokyo Reconstruction Plan” is implemented, we will have to work overtime for at least three years! I suddenly hate Zhang Chao-san, why don’t you really make the governor angry to death? With his personality, there is still a possibility that he can come back… (crying face)]

This must be a corporate slave of the city government.

[Just made a new cheering dance using Zhang Chao-san’s scattering action! The sisters tried it and found it very relaxing~ It has been uploaded to Niconico, and the title is “Literary Critical Hit! The Secret Technique to Make Your President Have a Stroke”] (Niconico is an online video sharing website launched in Japan in 2006)

Zhang Chao never thought that he would become a source of inspiration for otaku dance one day, he can only ORZ.

[It is said that Zhang Chaosang’s new book is going to be published? When? Where can I buy it? ]

This is what makes Zhang Chao most gratified.

[Who knows Zhang Chaosang’s contact information? He looks so boyfriend-like when he’s handing out manuscripts. I want to confess my love to him and I’m willing to go to China with him.]

Before Zhang Chao could be happy, he saw that the ID’s avatar looked like it had a beard. Was this a strange creature sneaking in?

……

Ogiwara Miho translated for a full 20 minutes, and from time to time she had to explain to Zhang Chao the various jokes in the replies that only Japanese people knew, and she was so dry-mouthed from talking.

Seeing this, Zhang Chao hurriedly went to pour her a glass of water, but the female general was so frightened that she fell to the ground and apologized repeatedly, saying that it was a dereliction of duty for her to let the guest “serve” her, and asked Zhang Chao to put down the water and she could go outside to drink it when the time came.

Zhang Chao could only put the water aside and said helplessly, “Why don’t you go drink some water before coming in. I have something to ask of you.”

Only then did Ogiwara Miho bow respectfully to Zhang Chao, walked out of the room, and closed the shoji (paper door of the Japanese-style room) for Zhang Chao before getting up and leaving.

Zhang Chao shook his head and sighed. He thought that among all the developed countries, Japan was probably the only one that could make women with such strong foreign language skills become as humble as ancient maids.

My parents secretly told me yesterday that everything here is good except that Ogiwara Miho is too attentive and respectful in serving people, which sometimes makes them “uncomfortable”, so they ended their trip in Tokyo a day early and went to Kyoto.

After a while, Ogiwara Miho came back and brought Zhang Chao a plate of Japanese sweets.

This is a traditional Japanese pastry with many varieties, including dango, mochi, steamed buns, dorayaki… all included. This plate has all the varieties, so you can eat any one you want.

Zhang Chao casually picked up a piece of mochi and stuffed it into his mouth, then asked Ogihara Miho, “Is Ishihara so disliked? Didn’t he serve as the governor of Tokyo for three consecutive terms? His approval rating should be very high, right?”

Miho Ogiwara thought for a while before answering: “Modern Japanese are generally politically apathetic and uninterested in elections. The voter turnout in every gubernatorial election is pitifully low.

Mr. Ishihara probably received more than 200 million votes when he was elected, while the population of Tokyo is nearly 1500 million, and the population of the entire Tokyo metropolitan area is 3000 million…

Most of the voters are middle-aged and elderly people, and those who like to express their opinions on the Internet are generally young people. Japanese young people don’t like the elderly, especially elderly politicians.

So you must have seen more criticism of Ishihara than support on the forum. If you go to a pub where there are more middle-aged and elderly people, you might hear something different. “

After listening to this analysis, Zhang Chao couldn’t help but look at Ogiwara Miho with new eyes. Although it was not complicated, it also involved a variety of knowledge such as political elections, social structure, and public opinion stratification. The logic was complete and the attitude was calm, and it did not blindly support Zhang Chao.

Although I had been to Seijiroin twice before, and was received by Ogiwara Miho both times, my interactions with her were all business-related. I only knew that she was good at English, but I didn’t expect that she was also well-informed.

Zhang Chao couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Your analysis is very helpful to me… Your English is also very good. You must have been to university? Or studied abroad?”

Ogiwara Miho bowed her head and said, “It’s great that I can help you. As for my own experience, it’s not worth mentioning.”

Zhang Chao had no choice but to say, “I hope to use you to accurately grasp the trend of Japanese public opinion. This is very important for my subsequent actions. Therefore, I need to understand your educational background and judge your professionalism.”

Ogiwara Miho didn’t expect Zhang Chao to say this. She was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and said, “I graduated from Tsuda Juku with a major in English. Later, I went to study in the United States and studied political science… But I only studied for one year and then came back, so there is no need to mention the school.

It’s just that I just returned to Japan and started working here not long ago, so I’m afraid my professional skills…are no longer as good as they used to be, and I’m unable to meet your needs.”

Zhang Chao then took a closer look at Ogiwara Miho – he had not dared to stare at her before because she had painted her face white – she was probably less than 40 years old. Calculating the time she spent in college and studying in the United States, it was probably the years when the Japanese economic bubble burst.

Zhang Chao speculated that Ogiwara Miho should be the daughter of a middle-class or even wealthy family at the time. Due to the economic downturn, her family could not afford the cost of her studying abroad and was forced to return home.

At that time, the employment environment in Japan was very bad, known as the “employment ice age”. It was even more difficult for highly educated women like her to find jobs, and she probably had to pay off her family’s debts.

Being able to work as a female general in a reception hall like “Qingjiyuan” is probably the best choice.

However, these were just gossips in Zhang Chao’s mind. He couldn’t ask Ogihara Miho for confirmation now. What he needed was her professional ability, so he said, “You ask others to go out and buy all the evening papers today. You, stay here with me to watch the Japanese news channel. Ishihara’s stroke should be considered big news. I want to hear how the Japanese media reports it. If this part is not within the scope of your service, then I will hire you alone.

The fee will be settled to you at the price of a senior translator or legal consultant. How about that? “

Upon hearing this, Ogiwara Miho looked up in disbelief, then realized that this was impolite, and quickly lowered her head and said, “As long as I am in Qingjiyuan, your orders are my duty.

So… you don’t need to pay extra.”

Zhang Chao nodded and said, “Okay, go and make arrangements quickly, and ask the chef to make me a bowl of ramen. It’s 8 o’clock now, which is news time.”

Ogiwara Miho bent down even lower than before and said in an incomprehensible tone, “Hi!”

In less than 20 minutes, Zhang Chao was sitting in front of the TV in the living room, holding a bowl of hot ramen, listening to Ogihara Miho translating for him the TV station’s report on “Ishihara’s stroke” – this was his first time watching TV in Qingjiyuan.

He was right in his guess: “Shintaro Ishihara suffered a stroke after being scolded by a young Chinese writer” was almost the hottest news of the day, and all TV stations reported it as a major event.

The clip where Zhang Chao compared Ishihara to a “male host”; the figure of Zhang Chao throwing manuscript paper into the air; the scene where Ishihara fell down due to a stroke… were played over and over again on various TV stations.

The first program I watched was the “News Watch” program on Japan’s NHK TV. The host was a middle-aged man in a suit and tie. He said to the camera with a serious face:
“…The incident of Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara suffering a stroke continues to ferment. The latest poll shows that the support rate for Zhang Chao’s remarks among the 18-29 age group is as high as 58%, while the opposition voice of the group over 60 exceeds 83%. They demand that the government immediately arrest or expel Zhang Chao, highlighting the division of public opinion.

Ryohei Nakamura, a law professor at Kyoto University, pointed out that this incident may become a landmark event to test the boundaries of freedom of speech in Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution…”

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), as Japan’s public television station, is a public media that relies on the audio-visual fees paid by the public and is independent of commercial capital. It has a relatively detached attitude and generally does not take sides easily. It will try to express various views.

Sure enough, the anchor chattered for a while and then switched to street interviews. The first person to be interviewed was a white-collar woman on the streets of Ginza. She was in a hurry and was stopped by the reporter. After listening to the relevant content, she said in a mocking tone:

“Didn’t Ishihara say that ‘working women are the culprit for the decline in birth rates’? Now it’s his turn to be speechless. I hope he won’t waste the country’s medical insurance. Are elderly people like him the culprit for Japan’s rising aging rate?”

After listening to Ogihara Miho’s translation, Zhang Chao burst out laughing and said, “Okay, let’s change the channel and listen to what others say.”

Ogihara Miho picked up the remote control and clicked twice. Sure enough, she saw the combination of “Zhang Chao + Ishihara” again. This time it was a political talk show on “TV Asahi”. A bald man spitted and yelled in front of the camera:

“This is China’s cultural invasion of Japan! Zhang Chao is the evil ghost from China, using his vicious tongue to destroy the Yamato spirit!”

Another guest wearing glasses was much calmer, but his words were also full of malice: “Who allowed this Chinese who despises Japanese civilization to speak so freely in Ginza? Zhang Chao used the street customs industry to compare politicians, which is not only an insult to Mr. Ishihara, but also a trampling on the wisdom of the people of Tokyo.

The most urgent task is to activate Article 24 of the Immigration Control Act and deport these “cultural terrorists” who are undermining the prosperity of Japan-China relations.

Miho Ogihara explained: “This program has always been known for its fierce comments, which may not represent the position of the TV station.”

Zhang Chao said: “It doesn’t matter. This is much safer than when I was accused of ‘racial discrimination’ in the United States. Let’s change the channel.”

Ogiwara Miho obviously didn’t know that Zhang Chao had such an experience. Although she had only been in the United States for a year, she also knew that this was a taboo topic in the United States. From Zhang Chao’s tone, it seemed that he had escaped unscathed from the accusation of “racial discrimination”? Unbelievable.

However, as a professional, she suppressed her curiosity and changed Zhang Chao to another TV station. A guest on a news program commented:
“What needs to be noted is that the Zhang Chao-Ishihara incident is becoming an outlet for intergenerational conflicts in Japanese society. Young people criticize older politicians by supporting foreigners, which is essentially a transfer of dissatisfaction with pension reform…”

Zhang Chao interrupted Ogihara Miho’s translation and asked, “What is pension reform?”

Miho Ogiwara replied: “‘Annuity’ means ‘pension’. Japan is aging rapidly, and the government’s pension reserves are insufficient. They want to take out a portion of the ‘Employees’ Pension’, which is the employee’s pension insurance, to subsidize the ‘basic pension’, which is the national pension.

But this is very unfair to today’s young people…”

Zhang Chao nodded after listening and said, “Let’s watch other channels.”

Ogihara Miho pressed the remote a few more times, and saw a man who claimed to be a student of “Keio University” clenching his fist and saying, “Zhang Chao has torn off the fig leaf of the Heisei loser! Those old perverts of the Ishihara faction keep talking about ‘Showa men’, but aren’t they just relying on sucking the blood of young people to stay alive?”

Then the camera switched to Ginza, and a woman who looked like the club owner said, “If Zhang-san had really come to be a hostess that night, he would definitely have become a legend~ (chuckle)…”

Zhang Chao’s face was filled with black lines, and he quickly said, “Change the channel, change the channel.”

Immediately, a dark-faced man appeared on the screen and roared at the camera: “Baka! What do the Chinese know about Tokyo? I commute three hours a day to support my wife and children. What’s wrong with Mr. Ishihara saying that he wants to cut taxes? Those young people who support the Chinese, you will understand when you are still living in the housing estate at the age of 40!”

……

The last show Zhang Chao watched was Fuji TV’s comedy show “The God of Laughter Comes”. A comedian imitated Ishihara’s voice and said, “Bakayashi! Even if I’m in a wheelchair, I will continue to curse…” Before he could finish his words, he suddenly fell down with his mouth crooked and his eyes slanted.

His partner, a man dressed as a nurse, shouted, “Doctor! The patient is convulsing again after seeing the front page of the Asahi Shimbun!”

After turning off the TV, Zhang Chao took a while to digest the situation before saying, “It seems that my claim that Ishihara had a stroke is not that serious?”

Ogiwara Miho was obviously also thinking and did not answer Zhang Chao’s question immediately.

There were more than a dozen newspapers in front of her, which the driver had just bought. She opened one and handed it to Zhang Chao. It was the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun, and the front-page headline was “The Battle to Defend Freedom of Speech in the Heisei Era.”

Miho Ogihara translated it for him word by word: “It is regrettable that Governor Ishihara suffered a stroke, but it is a dangerous backward thinking to blame literary criticism. Zhang Chao’s sharp remarks just prove the inclusiveness of Tokyo as a port of freedom of speech.

We noticed that on the 2ch forum, 25% of young people under the age of 63 supported Zhang Chao, which reminds those in power to face up to the intergenerational cognitive gap. “

Zhang Chao couldn’t help but laugh. No wonder the comedian on TV just now said that Ishihara had a second stroke after seeing the Asahi Shimbun. So that’s why.

Ogihara Miho opened another copy of Sankei Shimbun, and the report on it was not so friendly –

【…This newspaper has obtained exclusive medical reports to confirm that Governor Ishihara suffered a cerebral hemorrhage due to severe emotional fluctuations. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Taro Yamamoto angrily denounced: “This is verbal terrorism against the spiritual leader of the Yamato nation!”

It is reported that more than 300 supporters gathered outside the Ishihara Governor Hospital to pray for him, and at the same time demanded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately revoke Zhang Chao’s visa and deport him according to Article 24 of the Immigration Control Act.

Miho Ogihara said: “Japanese public opinion has always been like this. It is difficult to reach a consensus. Ishihara is certainly sympathetic, but as a controversial politician, he is also annoying.

Although your actions are controversial, I am afraid that in the hearts of young people in Japan, you are also a hero. “

Zhang Chao understood, picked up his phone and called Kadokawa Leyan, saying something that made the other person’s heart stop beating: “I’m going to visit Ishihara in two days, please make the arrangements!”

(End of this chapter)