An anti-vax organization held what turned out to be a big rally this weekend in Tokyo. However, it turns out that many of the young people who showed up were only there because they thought they’d get paid. How did a viral post dupe so many people into attending a right-wing, anti-science rally?
The anti-vax movement in Japan
Historically, there hasn’t been a strong anti-vax movement in Japan. Quite the contrary – even the samurai in the late Edo period embraced the smallpox vaccine, setting up vaccination centers across the country.
There have been exceptions, of course, particularly among religious groups. The Religion for Salvation in Mie Prefecture, for example, used to instruct its members to avoid vaccination. However, the group ended up apologizing and backtracking after its members helped spread an outbreak of measles.
Sadly, the pandemic led to the spread of anti-vaccine and anti-masking hysteria. Most of these groups are associated with America’s QAnon conspiracy theory movement, throwing their support behind Donald Trump and other would-be authoritarian leaders. (Polls show the overwhelming majority of Japanese citizens support Kamala Harris’ candidacy.)
As is usual in such movements, rodents scurry to become king of the dung heap. One man, Hiratsuka Masayuki, built anti-vaccine and COVID-19 denialism into a political campaign, running for the governor of Chiba Prefecture in 2021. He finished fifth, securing 19,372 votes. (The winner, Kumagai Toshihito, received over 1.4 million votes.)
Where’s our money?!
Another group that continues to beat the drum against life-saving vaccinations is the National Movement to Protect Lives From the World Health Organization (WHOใใๅฝใใพใใๅฝๆฐ้ๅ). The Movement held a rally this weekend in Tokyo Rinzai Disaster Prevention Park, located in Tokyo’s Ariake neighborhood in Koto City.
To give you a sense of what kind of scumbags support an event like this, the speakers included right-wingers such as journalist Tsutsumi Mika. Tsutsumi has accused foreigners of coming to Japan to receive free health care illegally. Groups such as the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan have pointed out that her charges have zero supporting data.
Surprisingly, the Movement saw a sizable crowd. According to FNN Prime Online, a number of people in anti-vaccination t-shirts sat near the stage, listening raptly to the event’s various speakers decry the “evils” of a scientific revolution that’s saved millions of lives.
However, says FNN, another crowd of “a few thousand young people” stood about 50 meters from the stage. Most of them paid no mind to the speakers. Instead, they played on their smartphones or talked amongst themselves.
The kids didn’t seem to be there for the content. One man in his 60s, a dedicated anti-vaxxer, told a reporter, “I thought at first we’d gotten more comrades. I was thrilled interest had spread among the young. But when I tried talking to them, I didn’t get anywhere. This is the first time at a demo I’ve felt uneasy.”
Afterward, a group of these young people surrounded an event organizer with a single question:
“Are we really getting paid for this?”
Get paid 10K yen to demonstrate?
So, where did these young people come from?
Apparently, they came with hopes of getting paid.
The crowd assembled due to a series of social media messages promising 10,000 yen (USD $70) to anyone who showed up around 2pm and stayed between an hour and an hour and a half. It also promised an additional 5,000 yen for every friend they brought.
For its part, the Movement proclaims up and down it had nothing to do with these posts. It posted a disclaimer on its Web site the day of the event saying that it never tried to hire demonstrators and warned people “not to fall victim to this sort of disinformation.” Event staff also held up signs reading “No compensation for demo participation.”
FNN says it did find a few people who say they got paid around 10,000 yen to show up and recruit others. They claim they were hailed down by scouts in Kabukicho. Some said the scouts cited the name of a well-known yakuza (organized crime) group.
Tough economic times
It might be easy to make fun of the people who showed up to support anti-vaxxers expecting to get paid. Honestly, though, I feel bad for them. Most of them wasted an afternoon – and train fare – hoping to earn a little extra cash to get them through their country’s tough economic times. With prices rising and wages stagnant, it’s no wonder so many people took the bait.
So, who was really behind the recruitment messages? There’s no firm evidence pointing to a culprit. While I personally hold the event and its organizers in the lowest possible esteem, I doubt they ever promised cash in exchange for attendance. Honestly, whoever did this accomplished nothing except increase this group’s sense of persecution and self-importance.
Vaccines are safe, effective, and save millions of lives every year. All vaccines go through strict testing and approval processes. For the facts on vaccines, read more on the World Health Organization’s website.
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Sources
ใ็ฌ่ชใใใใขๅๅ ใซ1ไธๅใโใตใฏใฉๅ้โใซๆฐๅไบบใๆฎบๅฐใๅ ฑ้ ฌๅใๅใฃใๅๅ ่ ใโฆ่ฅ่ ใซๅบใพใฃใๆ ๅ ฑใฏใใใๆฌๅฝใ. FNN Prime Online
ๅใฏใฏใใณใ็ฅ็้ฝQไผใใซใใ5ไบบใฎๅ ฌๅคใ้ฐ่ฌ่ซใฎๆใๆตฎใๅฝซใใซ. Asahi Shimbun
ไปคๅ3ๅนด3ๆ21ๆฅๅท่กๅ่็็ฅไบ้ธๆ. Chiba Prefecture
ใใ็ฅใใใๅ คๆชๆ่ใๆฅๆฌใๅฃฒใใใใใซใคใใฆใฎใใกใฏใใใงใใฏใๅนปๅฌ่ใซ้ไปใใพใใ. Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan
