Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) supporter and former NHK governor Naoki Hyakuta has called for the destruction of all Ghibli studio characters after world-renowned anime director Hayao Miyazaki has intensified his criticism of the government’s pro-military agenda.
Conservatives loyal to the LDP are fearful of the influence Studio Ghibli characters may wield in endorsing the pacifist constitution.
“Characters such as Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe live in a fantasy world of respect for their neighbours, the Totoro – we need to fear our neighbours and build up our offensive capabilities under the name of defense,” Hyakuta said.
Conservative groups have submitted white papers to the government recommending the blocking of any funding to Studio Ghibli and related anime productions in a ploy to destroy characters such as Mei Kusakabe, Totoro, Howl Pendragon, and Chihiro Ogino (better known as Sen).
The submissions also urge the government to repeat previously successful silence-by-intimidation tactics and dispatch hostile letters to anime heads of staff to suppress any anti-government voices breaking out in the anime world.
