TOKYO, May 14, 2022—Pumping iron in the dark, spit-shined dirty floored gym used to be a manic activity for those that aspired to win in the boxing rings or Olympic gold medals. Many guys (boys only!) lifting weights wearing sweat-smelling tattered clothes, not designer sports outfits, came from poor families with the resolve to hit the stardom one day with their iron-clad muscles. Former powerlifters, boxers, wrestlers now in their twilight ages did just that.
Young people going to the gym these days have almost totally different objectives: Some exercise for healthcare reasons but those are mostly female. Most men lift weights to build up muscles to show off their bodies to other people. When I asked why he lifts heavy weights the other day, a 30-year-old Mr. Yamada replied with a grin: ‘I want to show my body to the girls on the beach.’ It’s the reason why body builder contests are popular these days.
Whatever the purposes, it’s good that people move their bodies. But as they build their muscles to formidable size and their psychological confidence cross certain thresholds, something seems to click in their heads, with their psyche swinging to physique-driven radicalism – like most NFL players are trained to think.
If not all, many such people are befriending with each other and forming Japan’s right-wing alliances and connecting with politicians such as former prime minister Shinzo Abe and others on the right side of the lawmaker camp. And allying with pro-military defense forces personnel, they are supporting amending the pacifist Japanese constitution, big defense build-up including owning nuclear weapons.
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Insight Into the Future