Article calls for vigilance against off-the-wall conspiracies

Japan has not been immune from beliefs in satanic numerology that prevail in the West. Most Japanese have heard that "666" signifies something terrifying, even if they don't know that the figure is associated with the mark of the Beast of the Apocalypse in the New Testament's Book of Revelation. The beast -- said to be a grotesque figure with seven heads and 10 horns, that comes out of the sea -- has been used more recently to symbolize the worldwide political system.

Does this perhaps explain the frequent association of Tokyo's Roppongi district as the capital's very own sin city? After all, if you look closely at the kanji characters for Roppongi (六本木) you can see that all three characters incorporate the strokes used to write the kanji for roku (six).

But wait! Within the same three characters are embedded more numbers. Apart from six, the middle character (read hon) contains the kanji 十 (ju, ten); and the third character (read ki or gi) contains the Arabic numeral 1. Which gives us 10 plus one.

Now don't get excited, but six plus ten plus one also happens to correspond to the street address of Roppongi Hills complex, which appears on maps as Roppongi 6-chome, 10-1.

Is that an amazing coincidence? Or part of something more sinister? Can it be taken to portend that something unpleasant (shudder!) is going to happen in Roppongi in 2025?

Writing in Weekly Playboy (Jan 27), conspiracy watcher and author Jun Amamiya emphasizes that his intention is to help the naive and gullible from becoming ensnared in the kind of wacky conspiracies that seem to be popping up all the time.

Many of these, not uncoincidentally, involve the number 6.

This kind of satanic numerology continues to spawn a stream of new conspiracy theories. A fairly recent one is that Roppongi will become the focal point for the Japanese version of the "deep state."

As for this year in particular, Amamiya notes that that fans of the occult and dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy buffs have been drawn to a bestselling comic book titled "The Future as I See It," published in 2021 by illustrator Ryo Tatsuki. In it, the author predicts some sort of "major disaster" will occur in July 2025.

Tatsuki's fertile imagination essentially foresees the emergence of a "battle between light and darkness." Should light emerge victorious, the world will be saved; a victory for darkness will mean the world's downfall.

Driven by social media, some Japanese are known to take a rapt interest in strange events that occur abroad, and these have been known to feed conspiracies at home.

Under the new Trump administration, conspiracy theories in the U.S. concerning foreigners and immigrants are likely to increase. One trope likely to become more widespread is the "Great Replacement" theory, which claims that society's elites are promoting immigration in order to reduce the white population.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump himself has been known to latch on to conspiracies as benefits his public persona, and his imminent inauguration to his second term is believed likely to spawn a host of new crackpot stories, some circulated here wholesale or modified to suit similar narratives in Japan.

In this day and age, Amamiya asserts, conspiracies need to be taken seriously. A century ago in the wake of the Great Kanto Earthquake, the spreading of malicious rumors that certain people were poisoning wells led hysterical mobs to murder thousands of Koreans.

It is important -- no, make that essential -- to maintain vigilance against such stories, which can occur at any time.

"Conspiracy theories have typically involved the sentiment that 'I am party to information that other people are not,'" Amamiya explains, adding, "'If that information came to be widely known, the whole world might be flipped.'

"In other words, you think you know something that others do not, and by disseminating that knowledge you may be part of a force that can turn the world upside down."

"So when and if you happen to encounter a conspiracy theory, and realize it is likely to be just that, a conspiracy theory, and experience the buzz you get from it, I think you will be able to better understand the feelings of people who get caught up in it," says Amamiya.

"What's important is to have sensible people around you with whom you can talk things over about conspiracy theories," he points out.

"It would be good to distance yourself from conspiracy theories and reconcile your perceptions with others, by asserting things like, 'That can't be true,' or 'There aren't enough facts to support it.'"

According to Amamiya, a common pattern is for people to become immersed in conspiracy theories on social media sites like YouTube, and then spend time networking with others who are already into conspiracy theories, without communicating with their family members or friends.

"The solution is to read articles and books written by people who monitor conspiracies, or attend talks they give," he advises.  "I think this will have the effect of forging ties with people who have distanced themselves from conspiracies, and that in turn will build up their resistance."

© Japan Today