Japanese Trump superfan and conservative political activist Yoko Ishii spoke with Breitbart News on Tuesday night U.S. time to discuss the unfolding presidential election.
Ishii produces political commentary vlogs on YouTube under the moniker Random Yoko and has been featured recently by international publications including the BBC and the South China Morning Post for her vocal support of U.S. President Donald Trump in the U.S.’s November 3 presidential election. Ishii says Trump is Japan’s ally because he fights against Chinese dominance, which threatens Japanese national security.
Speaking via Skype from her home in Fukuoka City, Japan, on Tuesday, Ishii was decked out in full Trump gear, donning a red MAGA hat and t-shirt. She spoke with National Security reporter Gabrielle Reyes to give her take on the U.S. presidential election so far and to discuss what it means to be conservative in Japan today.
Reyes: What do you think about the U.S. presidential election?
Ishii: With my understanding … it’s so hard of course to see the numbers from Japan, like another country. However, I know American people, what people are thinking. And judging from that, Trump must win by a landslide.
Because, you know, people talk about [the] black community and so on, but it’s those rioters that are destroying the black community, like literally their businesses and so forth. And, [the] Trump administration … he’s been doing a lot for the black community.
Also, I just don’t see [former U.S. Vice President and Democratic Party challenger Joe] Biden’s policy, anyway. … His policies don’t make sense to me. So I think the American people will feel the same, too. Especially on environmental policy. It’s more taxes, and also it damages the economy right now with the oil industry and so forth and I see those … [policies are not] aligning.
And so, I believe in the common sense of the silent majority of America. And that will probably lead to the result of Trump winning by a landslide.
Reyes: What does it meant to be a conservative in Japan?
Ishii: As for the ideology here in Japan, what it means to be a conservative is to carry on the tradition, adjusting ourselves to current circumstances. So, for us what’s most important is the [Japanese] Emperor family history.
Reyes: And Donald Trump met your Emperor [Naruhito] last year. [Trump was the first world leader to meet Emperor Naruhito after he acceded to the throne in May 2019.]
Ishii: Oh, yes, that was such a touching moment. We have this tradition, that it’s a male bloodline from thousands of years ago. … There’s a style in the continuation of that tradition.
However, our leftists are trying to change that [in the name of] equality … they say that we need a female emperor, and so forth, which actually denies our traditional style. So, that’s the battle that we have here.
And, also, just as for the politics right now, what defines conservatism [in Japan] is to protect our country from, of course, threats from other countries. Our neighboring countries include North Korea and China, and even Russia is close. So our conservatives here are anti-North Korea, anti-CCP-[Chinese Communist Party]-led China, and [anti-] Russia.
Reyes: And the city in which you’re based, Fukuoka, is closer to Seoul than it is to Tokyo.
Ishii: Oh, yes.
Reyes: So you definitely know firsthand how serious the threats are from other countries; you’re so close to the Asian mainland.
Ishii: Yes, because back in the day, … [the security threat to Japan was from the] Mongolian Empire. It was a mixture of Chinese and South Koreans and so forth and they came into our island … to the coastline … and so there are still remains of the battle.
We [traditionally] had lots of tourists from China and South Korea, but due to COVID-19 [the Chinese coronavirus] finally … it’s economically speaking … unfortunate for us that the tourism industry is fading, but now, as for our daily life, there are less … we don’t see Chinese or South Korean tourists now and we have our life back to ourselves. We feel like this is Japan, finally.
Reyes: What do you think about Trump’s public image in Japan?
Ishii: I think most people just see him as an American, … [a] patriotic American. But some people might have a bit of [a] negative image [of him] as well because the only information source here is TV. And, our TV is very, very left-biased. It’s due to … we lost the war [World War II] and so … patriotic people were purged. So, what’s remaining is the leftists are hating Japan. So TV stations are all left-biased basically.
Due to our language barrier also, we don’t get to learn what’s really happening in the U.S. Things are lost in translation also, and many people might have the negative image [of Trump]. Like, even [if] Trump says [something] a little too aggressive or something.
But me personally … when I see, especially watching Trump rallies online, I almost get teary because he’s such a hopeful figure to me. He’s a savior of America, but not just of America. … I feel like he’s fighting for us all in the world. Especially because I see the world as the ‘Free World’ versus the ‘Evil Empire.’
Back in the day … the ‘Evil Empire’ was [the] Soviet Union, as [U.S. President Ronald] Reagan said. Today it’s CCP-led China. And President Trump is slaying the CCP.
I’m not just speaking for Japanese people. … I work with all these people from the oppressed areas by China, communist-led China [sic]. People from Tibet, Uyghur[s], Southern Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam. … It’s not a governmental level, but we have this alliance network, like activist network. My husband [Hidetoshi Ishii] is actually the Vice President of the network, called Free Indo-Pacific Alliance. Taken from [the] Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, both in Japan and in the U.S.
Reyes: What do you think about Japan’s new Prime Minister, Suga Yoshihide?
Ishii: Prime Minister Suga is a … domestic leader. It’s often said that he’s not very much familiar with all the international things like diplomacy and so on. So, we don’t know how he will be doing. And there … [isn’t] enough information to judge him [on] how he will be doing [in the future].
What I can say is that he served as the … Chief Cabinet Secretary of the [previous] administration. So he was under the former Prime Minister Abe [Shinzo] for such a long time. And he was really reliable.
He’s like [U.S. Vice President] Mike Pence. He’s so steady and calm, but precise. And strong against the media.
So, when I think of Prime Minister Suga … I get the same kind of impression as Mike Pence.
He’s [from] the same party [as] the former administration, so the basic policy hasn’t changed. It’s the continuation of the former [prime minister] Abe Shinzo. So, [the] Japan-U.S. alliance stays there [in place], firmly.
Some people are concerned about how he will handle China. …
In our left-biased society, our governing party [the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan] right now is recognized as a conservative party, but it’s not conservative. And just like in the U.S., in the Republican party, there are lots of in-name-only [conservatives] like neocons, and all sorts of people mingled … so [it’s the] same for Japan.
Our governing party consists of lots of, like, evil leftists inside the governing party. So, inside of the governing party, they’re doing the power struggles.
We live next to China and we have lots of interaction and our business is very dependent on China, so lots of people want to keep that relationship with China. So that might affect our administration, so that’s our concern [moving forward].
But [as] for the basic direction [of Japan in terms of foreign policy], we’re together in the ‘Free World.’
Reyes: If Biden becomes the next president of the U.S., how would it affect Japan?
Ishii: I think that fundamentally it won’t change too much, actually. Because during the Obama administration we kept our alliance with the U.S. and it was not a dramatic change [from the previous U.S. presidential administration]. Even though we were affected by the Obama administration.
But what I’m concerned about right now is his [Biden’s] environmental policy. Because China, CCP-led China, lies all the time. And that means that they can lie about their environmental policy. And so they will say like, ‘Oh, we will do this together, you know, let’s do clean energy,’ and China will openly lie. And for that, Biden might agree with them.
And what happens is that then, because we agreed to this amazing goal together with China, let’s be friendly with China. … There might come appeasement. So that’s what we’re afraid of.
Reyes: Is it difficult for you to find people in Japan who share your passion for U.S. politics or for international politics?
Ishii: Yes, locally, it is very difficult. People don’t know what I’m talking about. (Laughs.)
But, to be fair, it’s not just about American politics, it’s about politics in general.
Our society [in Japan] is somewhat peaceful, or we are taught that it is peaceful.
For example, … our citizens … [have been] abducted by North Korea, like over 800 people. However, people don’t think about it because the media doesn’t report it and so forth. So there are problems like that. And due to that, we are brainwashed into thinking that Japan is peaceful.
And of course, our crime rate is low because we share the same values and we are all Japanese, so we don’t commit crimes much. And so, everyday life is peaceful. So we don’t have a reason to think about politics. And so when [a] national-level election or any election level, I think, [takes place] it’s usually around 50 percent that go to vote. It’s only like half of the people here that are actually doing political things.
Reyes: Any messages for America on election night?
Ishii: I want American people to know that, you know, Trump is often called … like Hitler, or racist, or fascist.
Our prime minister, well the current one [Suga] is new, so it hasn’t happened [to him] yet, but for [former] Prime Minister Abe, who was the bestie of President Trump, he was called Hitler, fascist, racist, and [endured] all the same leveling, too.
Over here in Japan, even though we consist of [almost entirely] Japanese people, we have [a] racism issue as well with South Koreans. And the leftists here say that Japanese people are discriminating against South Koreans and also [that] we should give more rights to South Koreans and so forth. Leftists bring all this, the same tactic, to our society. And so, even though Japan and America seem so far away, we are dealing with the same kind of narrative and tactic by the left.
American people might feel alone. Obviously, [in] American society today there are rioters who I call terrorists, actually. But there are rioters and I get that people are very anxious, but you know, in Japan, from Japan, we can understand completely what’s going on, too. And especially in the [19]60s and [19]70s, our communists were killing cops and so on, too. So we completely understand what’s going on.
I just want to say that Japan is firmly standing with the U.S.
Edited for clarity.
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