True to form, @sachihirayama shows us she does not actually value accuracy in her attacks against "foreign" scholars, she is simply trying to foment as much anger as possible, even if it means lying to her thousands of followers. This is why there is no meaning in debating them.
Rather than accurately translate, she would rather see words related to discrimination in the content, ignore the actual meaning, & accuse the writer of being racist. Ethan posted a historical cartoon, EXPLAINING how it was racist, & they attacked him.
She relies on followers being willing to accept what she says at face value. She either knows they will maliciously agree with whatever she says, or she that they are too ignorant to interpret it themselves. Perhaps they are too scared to call her out for her misinterpretations.
It's actually incredible to see someone so bluntly say "I think it's important to accurately translate things that support ultranationalist views, but we can entirely ignore the real meanings of counterarguments." They are not interested in truths unsupportive of their narrative.
I'm not afraid to say that she is a bad person. She knowingly mistranslates & misinterprets things credible scholars have said so that she can get attention. She uses that rage to incite others to try to get us fired, to stop work that gives voices to victims of wartime violence.
Frankly, it's sad.
What she does is also insulting to Japanese people, leading them down misguided paths of hate & discrimination using manipulation & lies. And for what? Attention. The attention *she* craves. Her desire to be a savior of a Japan that can never love her back, because it's an idea.
Maybe the trolls really do love Japan & want it to represent something good. But their every action tarnishes its image instead. No country is without its sins. But it's not by erasing them that they become better & move on, it's through acceptance with humility and doing better.
But why do we care? Why don't we just log off? Because of people like this, who use social media as battleground to recruit through ignorance and hate and untruths with great ease. Historians and others would be foolish to cede this ground. apjjf.org/2021/22/Curtis…
And now, coffee. ☕
Caffeine acquired. Here's some more resources on this topic.

I just released a podcast ep with @olliemox & @CJS_Uea on Japanese ultranationalists and echoes of these historical denialism tactics across the globe: japaninnorwich.org/2021/11/25/s2e…
The original fact-checking work so rigorously and expertly done by @astanley711 @SayakaChatani @SzendiChelsea @hannahjshepherd and @dambaras can be found here at @apjjf : apjjf.org/2021/5/Concern…
The thoughtful and fair work of @JeannieSGersen on this topic was done back in February of this year: newyorker.com/culture/annals…
Putting the ultranationalist movements in historical context, @SzendiChelsea published in The Nation: thenation.com/article/world/…
And @astanley711 has written a number of thoughtful personal essays on how this has absorbed our lives and the damage of hateful rhetoric: amy-stanley.com/blog-1/breakfa…

amy-stanley.com/blog-1/7xr8dvz…
I could go on for tweet after tweet--the digital footprint of these communities and their negative impact is vast. Michael Chwe has been compiling much of the content here: chwe.net/irle/
But as I note in my article, one good thing all of this bile & vitriol has done is embolden more of us to reach across disciplines, specializations, & virtual spaces to ally with one another and be more engaged. Solidarity. Fight where you can, block where you need. Take a walk.

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More from @paularcurtis

24 Nov
Last night's #XmenTAS watch brings us plenty of killer gifs, starting with a supercut of Rogue kicking ass, because we deserve it. 👊💥 @xmentas
everyone's faces when they hear X-Men '97 is gonna be a thing
but you still gotta sit through relatives' hot takes over the holidays
Read 6 tweets
20 Nov
30 (!) new job ads in East Asian Studies this week. 📊 Highlights below, filterable table at the link! ⬇️ Now 390 entries. 💼 prcurtis.com/projects/jobta…
China-related job ads

TT
🔸Archaeology: Chinese U of Hong Kong
🔸Digital Studies: Leiden U
🔸Lit & Culture: Columbia U
🔸East Asian Studies: Cal State U Sacramento

non-TT
🔸Language: Columbia U; Colby College; U of Georgia
postdoc
🔸PoliSci/Anthro/Socio: NYU Shanghai; Harvard U; Princeton U
🔸Religious Studies: UC Berkeley
🔸East Asian Studies: NYU Shanghai (2x)
🔸Economics: William & Mary

N/A
🔸Admin: UC San Diego
Read 7 tweets
13 Oct
For those who are interested in what else you can read on the topic of historical denialism, comfort women history, and all the harassment visited upon digitally-engaged scholars since early 2021, here's a list of links, starting with yesterday's article: criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/202…
The article I've just published with @CriticAsianStds grew out of a first draft for a shorter introduction for those first coming to these issues (a broader audience), which I was invited to publish with @TokyoReview: tokyoreview.net/2021/05/ramsey…
Shortly after Ramseyer's original publication became A Thing that had clear, recognizably global implications, @JeannieSGersen wrote a fabulous piece about it for the @NewYorker: newyorker.com/culture/annals…
Read 8 tweets
10 Oct
I made myself a regular schedule (work in the mornings at a coffee shop, then a trip to the gym, then errands) so I felt I could disconnect. I also organized regular happy hours with other overseas researchers because being outside our usual communities can be very isolating!
I also made regular study dates with friends--traveling around to find new coffeeshops, working together on tasks I knew were achievable, while also getting socializing/commiseration in.
I also had to learn to be more cognizant that I was the person who knew my experience best. It became exhausting to hear "You must be having an AMAZING time on abroad!!" when stress & loneliness was a struggle. It can hurt to have others' expectations contradict your experience.
Read 4 tweets
10 Oct
"Won't you have an online debate?" "Debate me" culture is a tactic often seen in media punditry & extremist online communities. A Catch-22. If the target accepts the demand, they acknowledge the premise of the argument as valid. If they refuse, they are called cowardly or wrong.
Oftentimes these demands for debate are made knowing that that target is aware it is a logical trap--it is a tactic not intended for actual debate to take place, because the challenger knows they won't accept. The goal is to try to make yourself look good and your enemy look bad.
I will say it again, for the zillionth time, you don't owe anyone your time and energy who is a bad faith actor and who is not willing to meet you on premise of academic integrity, truth, and mutual respect.
Read 8 tweets
9 Oct
Good morning! Coffee's hot. ☕ 22 new job ads in East Asian Studies this week. Check out the filterable job table to browse by keyword or category. This week's details are below! ⬇️ Now 248 entries.
prcurtis.com/projects/jobta…
China ads this week:

🔸TT
Philosophy: Brock U; Cal State Northridge
postdoc
Any: Stanford; UC Berkeley

🔸N/A
Library: Princeton U
Admin: U Exeter
Japan ads this week:

🔹TT
East Asian Studies: William & Mary; Western Washington U; Leipzig U
Art History: Bukkyo U
Linguistics: Yasuda Women's U

🔹postdoc
Digital Studies: UT Austin (x2)
History: Imperial Household Agency (x2)

🔹N/A
Library: Harvard U
Read 7 tweets

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