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Paper short abstract:

This presentation seeks to unveil the complicated nature of right-wing activism, as depicted in the texts of Makoto Sakurai. The analysis provides changing trajectories of virtual relations with LDP and PM Shinzo Abe, social and political issues in the society and in the region from 2005 to 2019.

Paper long abstract:

Makoto Sakurai, one of the most famous personalities of Japanese Action Conservative Movement (ACM), is known for various activities - writer, the founder and long-term leader of Zaitokukai, the founder and present leader of Japan First Party. While one creation of his, Zaitokukai, has gained a substantial attention lately, his long lasting activity as a blogger has not been researched. The blog "Doronpa's monologue" was started on April 1, 2005 and logs there are constantly uploaded until now, making it a 15 year-long chronicle with more than 2700 posts. The contents of the blog cover a multitude of topics - from criticizing the leftist media to demonizing North Korea or praising the whaling traditions. Strong far right discourse makes Makoto Sakurai one of the best examples of nativist movement. This paper aims to unveil the multifaceted nature of ACM by deconstructing the narrative which is created in "Doronpa's monologue". The results of the qualitative analysis show that the blog activity positively correlates to Sakurai's changing role in ACM - from individual blogger to the leader of political party. The changes are also visible in the topics - inter alia, attitude towards leftists, cooperation with other ACM groups and leaders, representation of political elite and, especially, PM Shinzo Abe. The thread of Sakurai's narrative dedicated to PM Abe shows drastic change from support to fierce critique (after 28 December, 2015) and provides an extra layer in the discussion about "leaning right" of post-2012 Japanese government.