Borrow the ancient irony! Japanese novels that have moved historical figures to fight the epidemic have been well received, and Japanese netizens have sold well because of the people's dissatisfaction with the government's ineffective fight against the epidemic

Source: Global Times

【Global Times Comprehensive Report】Tokugawa Ieyasu was prime minister, Sakamoto Ryuma was cabinet secretary, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was finance minister, Oda Nobunaga was minister of economy, trade and industry... Although these Japanese historical figures belong to different eras, if they come together to form a government, how will they lead Japan in the fight against THE new crown pneumonia epidemic? According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported on the 28th, a historical fiction novel titled "If Tokugawa Ieyasu Becomes Prime Minister" adopted such a character setting and caused a lot of repercussions in Japanese society.

Published earlier this year, the main story is: In 2020, the new crown virus was raging in Japan, and due to the government's failure to respond effectively in the early stage of the epidemic, a collective infection occurred in the prime minister's official residence, and the then prime minister also died of the new crown virus infection. Japanese society is in unprecedented chaos, and the Japanese people no longer trust the government. Against this backdrop, the Japanese government has adopted an unprecedented approach to resurrecting historical figures through artificial intelligence and holographic technology to form a new cabinet. Based on the selection of artificial intelligence, the founder of the Edo shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was selected as prime minister, Ryoma Sakamoto, a reformist in the Meiji Restoration era, as chief cabinet secretary, Japanese politician Toyotomi Hideyoshi as minister of finance, and Oda Nobunaga, who contributed to The unification of Japan, as minister of economy, trade and industry. Since then, the Tokugawa cabinet has taken a series of swift and decisive decisions, such as the lockdown of Tokyo and the distribution of 500,000 yen (about 30,000 yuan) support to everyone, leading the Japanese people to fight the new crown epidemic.

There are many representative figures in Japanese history, and the book also has some consideration in the specific character setting. The author of the novel, Akihito Makoto, said that he chose Tokugawa as prime minister because he was "a figure who established a peace system without war", and that the choice of Sakamoto as chief cabinet secretary was due to his "role of connecting the people and the government". Makoto also stressed that the reason for choosing well-known historical figures is to attract elementary school students and junior high school students to read.

The novel received a great deal of critical acclaim after its publication. Many Japanese netizens left messages on social platforms, saying, "How nice it would be if historical figures such as Tokugawa Ieyasu were still alive!" "Only the Tokugawa cabinet can save the chaotic Japan." There is also the view that the reason why this historical fiction novel is popular is that people are dissatisfied with the government's ineffective fight against the epidemic. (Fang Qing)