An ¡°unofficial¡± Twitter account operated by a Tokyo bookstore employee that promoted a ¡°pro-democracy book fair¡± has sparked an online controversy, resulting in cancellation of the event by the chain¡¯s head office.
Criticism erupted when the Twitter account, purported to be run by an employee at the MaruzenJunkudo bookstore chain¡¯s Shibuya branch, advertised a book promotion fair featuring liberal ideologies with tweets expressing support for the anti-Abe administration movement.
The selection of featured books covered such topics as revolution, democracy and street demonstrations. The list included books about the pro-democracy youth group Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs), which protested the Abe administration¡¯s ramming of security bills through the Diet last month.
¡°Our bookstore has plenty of members willing to fight,¡± the Twitter user wrote last week in reply to another tweet. The account said in a separate tweet the store will continue similar book fairs or events to support the activist group before the Upper House election scheduled for next July.
The account, @LibraryUnited, appears to have been deleted as of Monday.
In the face of a public outcry, MaruzenJunkudo Bookstores Co., Ltd. issued an official statement Thursday on its website to explain that the controversial tweets were from an unofficial Twitter account operated by a member of the store¡¯s staff, and thus did not represent the company¡¯s policy.
¡°We have operated with the belief that the role of a bookstore is to introduce a wide variety of ideologies and opinions. This stance will not change,¡± it said, adding the company will continue similar fairs but will re-examine the kinds of books it showcases.
Contacted by The Japan Times on Monday, a MaruzenJunkudo spokeswoman said she had nothing to add to the company¡¯s statement.
Various opinions were exchanged online about the company¡¯s decision to change the event.
¡°This is how the freedom of speech of minorities is taken away. This is what represents today¡¯s Japan,¡± one anonymous user posted on the popular 2channel gossip bulletin board.
Another anonymous user reacted negatively to the tweets by the bookstore staffer: ¡°It¡¯s free (for individuals) to play up whatever ideology they have, but no doubt they become a target for criticism when they emphasize just single-sided opinions.¡±
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