ABSTRACT
In 2004, Fuji Xerox Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi did something very unusual for a Japanese businessman. He publicly criticized the prime minister for making visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where the Japanese war-dead, including Class-A war criminals, are honored. In making his statement, he was careful to base his criticism on economic, rather than moral, grounds. He argued that the prime minister’s visits to Yasukuni Shrine would be bad for Japanese business, especially in China. Shortly after Kobayashi made his public comment, he was condemned as a traitor and was harassed with death threats from right-wing organizations in Japan. Two Molotov cocktails were found near the entrance to his residence, and a bullet was delivered in an envelope to his address.1
