Is crime justified in the service of good?
It¡¯s an ancient question. ¡°Thou shalt not kill,¡± says the Bible ¡ª war in God¡¯s service being an implicit exception. Then there¡¯s Don Quixote, lover of justice, upholder of virtue, who founders on the impossibility of doing good without committing outrages. His name became an adjective ¡ª quixotic ¡ª for a certain kind of activism that fails to allow for the practical limits life imposes on ideals.
¡°Quixotic¡± is a word Shukan Bunshun magazine applies to the self-described ¡°Kantei Santa¡± ¡ª kantei meaning the prime minister¡¯s official residence, Santa needing no introduction, surprising though it is to see him at work so far from Christmas. ¡°Kantei Santa¡± was the signature on a warning note attached to a miniature drone found in late April on the roof of the prime minister¡¯s residence. ¡°Radioactive,¡± said the note. The stunt, it explained, was a protest against the government¡¯s drive to restart nuclear power stations idled in the wake of the meltdown catastrophe in Fukushima in March 2011. A quantity of earth in a container attached to the drone was in fact found to be mildly radioactive. ¡°Santa¡± reportedly told police he dug it up in Fukushima.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.