Activist Nami Katsuragi Calls for Japan to Recover Its Pride

Nami Katsuragi, chairwoman of the organization Koto wo Mamoru Kai (Society to Protect the Imperial Line), speaks with a conviction shaped by her activism. Her causes range from the North Korean abductions to the defense of Japan's imperial succession. What ties them all together is a call to recover national pride.

In an interview with JAPAN Forward, she shared her views on the dangers of complacent pacifism and the meaning of Japan's wartime history. In addition, she shared her views on male-line imperial succession and why it must be preserved.

The Illusion of Peace

Katsuragi began with a striking observation. Japan has experienced more than 80 years without war since 1945, but that very peace, she argued, has lulled the nation into a dangerous mindset.

"Peace itself is a blessing," she acknowledged. "But Japanese people have fallen into the illusion that just by chanting peace, peace will be preserved. Even when we should stand and fight, many now shy away."

For her, the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea is the clearest example of this heiwa-boke — peace-induced complacency. Though five abductees returned in 2002, she noted, there has been no progress in the 23 years since.

Katsuragi suggested that some politicians wear blue ribbon badges less out of genuine commitment and more for appearances. "They put them on as if to show they're doing something, but in reality it can amount to little more than a gesture," she said.

A Visible Show of Power

As secretary-general of the Reservists' Blue Ribbon Association, a group of former Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnel, she campaigns for decisive measures, including the active use of the SDF in rescue efforts.

*Nami Katsuragi (left) at the JAPAN Forward office. August 27, 2025.*

"When we propose that, some people ask, 'What about the soldiers' lives?'" she explained. "But which is more important, the lives of citizens or the lives of soldiers? They have sworn to risk their lives in service."

According to her, many in the SDF "feel bitter that they are not even allowed to act when fellow citizens are in danger." While rescue missions may not happen, she argues for a more visible show of power. "If Japan's prime minister met Kim Jong Un with a uniformed officer seated beside him, that alone would project strength. Negotiations only work when backed by power."

Reconsidering Japan's Wartime Past

Her critique of Japan's current security posture is closely tied to her view of the nation's history. Katsuragi admitted that in her youth, she absorbed the standard narrative taught in schools, that Japan's wars were acts of aggression. "I grew up believing Japan fought invasive wars. But in my late twenties, I began to learn the true history and realized the opposite."

Today, she regards the Greater East Asia War not as aggression, but as a struggle for self-defense and resistance to Western imperialism in Asia. A revelation for her was discovering the Emperor's Imperial Rescript on War. "When I read it word for word, I was shocked. The Emperor explained so clearly why Japan had to fight. It was not an invasion, but a defense of our dignity and of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." That message, she said, was later buried in postwar Japan, precisely because it so clearly expressed Japan's justification.

The Founding Ideal of Harmony

From wartime rescripts, Katsuragi traced her convictions back to Japan's very founding. She recalled being deeply moved by the mythic first emperor Jimmu's words upon establishing the capital: "Let us shape a world beneath the heavens, united as one great family."

"That," she said, "is the true origin of the Japanese spirit of harmony. But, she continued, education had long misled people into thinking that phrases like hakko ichiu — "eight corners of the world under one roof" — were nothing more than militarist slogans.

"In fact," she said, "they expressed a vision of coexistence and shared prosperity. I was ashamed of my own ignorance."

*Woodblock print depicting the first Emperor Jimmu by Ginko Adachi in 1891 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons).*

Later, when she read the Imperial Rescript on War, another phrase struck her: banpo kyoei — "all nations prospering together." "I realized," she said, "it was the same message, carried forward through the generations of emperors."

Remembering the Spirit of Self-Sacrifice

Katsuragi's experiences visiting Pacific battle sites reinforced this conviction. In Peleliu, she learned how Japanese soldiers lived among the islanders as brothers. When American forces approached, the local people offered to fight alongside the Japanese. However, the soldiers rebuffed them with harsh words. Only later did the islanders realize the true intent: the Japanese wanted to protect them by driving them away to safety.

"To me," she said, "that story captured the essence of Japan's mission: self-sacrifice for others. If Japan can live true to that spirit, it can again contribute to world peace."

At battle sites, she also reflected on the sacrifices of those who had fallen. Entering caves dug by hand on Peleliu, she imagined the soldiers who fought to the death, convinced they were protecting their families, communities, and the Emperor. She described the soldiers' determination as "beyond human ability." In her view, it is not Article 9 or the US-Japan alliance that keeps Japan safe. "American soldiers once faced Japanese who fought so fiercely that they never wanted to fight us again," she said. It is "the spirit of those who gave everything" that still protects Japan today.

Preserving the Male Imperial Line

As chairwoman of the Society to Protect the Imperial Line, Katsuragi's deepest concern is safeguarding the principle of male-line succession. She pointed to the words bansei ikkei (an unbroken line for ten thousand generations), found in Imperial rescripts throughout Japan's history, as proof that legitimacy rests on male descent from Emperor Jimmu.

She dismissed arguments for allowing Princess Aiko, daughter of Emperor Naruhito, to ascend the throne. "On the surface, it sounds respectful. But in reality, it denies the legitimacy of Prince Hisahito, who is already in line. It's equivalent to saying he is unworthy."

Past female emperors, she noted, were always interim figures who never bore heirs while on the throne. A reigning empress who married a commoner and passed succession to her children would, she argued, sever the unbroken line. "That would create a dynasty with no blood tie to Jimmu," Katsuragi warned. For her, the Emperor is "the unifying axis of Japan." Without that legitimacy, she cautioned, "the nation itself would begin to fracture."

Awakening to Pride

For Katsuragi, the threads of her thought converge on a single point: awakening pride in being Japanese. "I, too, once believed only in Japan's faults. But when I learned the true history, I could finally say I was proud to be Japanese."

She hopes young people will have the same awakening, not as nostalgia but as a path to Japan's future role in the world.

"Peace cannot be preserved by words alone," she said. Japan, she argued, must remember the sacrifices of its ancestors and defend the dignity of the Imperial line. It also needs to "recover the spirit of harmony that seeks prosperity for all." Only then, she added, "will Japan truly fulfill its mission."

Author: Daniel Manning