Why the Pro-Trump QAnon Movement Is Finding Followers in Japan

“It appears that a small minority of people have their minds wired to accept these outlandish theories in spite of all the evidence and knowledge that is put directly in front of them,” Okumura said. “There is even the argument that it is human nature to want to believe that a person is privy to secret information or knowledge that no-one else has.”

Conspiracy Theories – Coronavirus, Global Warming, Monarchs
QAnon Japan followers are convinced that global warming is a lie and that the planet’s climate is being artificially manipulated, while the coronavirus pandemic that started in the Chinese city of Wuhan is linked to the introduction of 5G mobile networks “and may function as a controllable electromagnetic weapon,” Eri told DW.

Stephen Nagy, an associate professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University, points out that social media has made the message of conspiracy theorists far easier to disseminate.

“Anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, those that think the coronavirus was a biological weapon deliberately manufactured in a Chinese laboratory and brought into Japan by North Korean agents – where does it all come from and why do some people fall for these tales?” he asked.

“I remember similar stories in years gone by, but they never gained any real traction then. But now we live in an era where social media amplifies and expands every thought and idea,” Nagy told DW.

“And with people now locked down because of the coronavirus, many are going online and falling down the rabbit hole offered by QAnon and others with similar agendas,” he added.

In a country that broadly reveres its monarchy, QAnon’s opinions on the imperial family are perhaps most surprising.

Eri insists that the members of the real imperial family were “replaced by fakes” during the Meiji era and “Emperor Hirohito had British nationality and is not a pure Japanese,” adding that Emperor Hirohito, who was Japan’s emperor from 1926 until his death in 1989, was a CIA agent.

QAnon also claims that Hirohito’s son and heir, Emperor Akihito, was behind the March 2011 earthquake tragedy.

Not All Trump Supporters Back QAnon
But many Japanese supporters of Trump’s politics are scathing in their assessment of QAnon’s conspiracy theories.

“I’ve noticed their tweets, but none of us is taking them seriously because they are clearly a cult,” Yoko Ishii, a conservative activist and journalist who has backed Trump, told DW. “They are not politically influential or a threat as they won’t grow, at least among the conservative political community. They are nerds and conspiracy theorists.”

But Eri disagrees, insisting that QAnon Japan is “a wonderful grassroots movement that makes everyone happy.”

As of January 21, Eri’s Twitter account has been suspended.

Julian Ryall is a Japan-based reporter.This articleis published courtesy of Deutsche Welle (DW).