French historian Emmanuel Todd analyzes Western nihilism and moral collapse in Japan

French intellectual, historian, and anthropologist Emmanuel Todd visited Japan at the invitation of Hiroshima University President Mitsuo Ochi to evaluate the crisis facing the Western world and Japan’s place within this landscape.

Todd, who made the visit on October 18 after postponing it for a year due to health issues, began his speech by comparing the present day with his first visit to Hiroshima 33 years ago.

Todd described the atmosphere of 1992 with the following words:

“Optimism prevailed at that time. Communism had collapsed, and the Cold War was over. The nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were terrible, but they seemed to belong to the past, a mistake of humanity and the US. The dominant values of the era pointed toward a liberal and prosperous West.”

However, noting that the intervening years have completely reversed this picture, the French historian emphasized that freedoms are currently regressing in the West and living standards are declining.

Todd illustrated the situation in France using his own career as an example:

“Although my publisher, Gallimard, is one of France’s most prestigious institutions, I can no longer express myself on public television channels like France-Inter or France 2 as I used to. This is akin to being banned from appearing on NHK screens in Japan. My reputation in Japan protected me against the new state authoritarianism in France.”

Deindustrialization

Devoting significant attention to the Ukraine war, Todd argued that this conflict has exposed the West’s industrial weakness.

Stating that the Western alliance exaggerated its own power against Russia, the author expressed that gross domestic product (GDP) data is misleading:

“On the eve of the war, Russia’s GDP was only 3% of the West’s total. Despite this, Russia managed to produce more weapons than the entire West. The war demonstrated that the measurement we call GDP does not reflect actual production capacity and revealed our industrial weakness.”

Stating that an education crisis lies at the root of this production insufficiency, Todd drew attention to the collapse in the US engineering training capacity.

He noted that Russia, with a population much smaller than the US, trains more engineers, which is the key to victory on the ground.

Todd stated that Germany and Japan have maintained their engineering capacity, but the US, the UK, and France have regressed in this area.

Explaining this collapse in education and social structure through the “religious mutation” theory, the anthropologist argued that the Protestant ethic that constituted the West’s power has vanished.

Todd defined the social evolution of religion in three stages: Active religion: The period where belief and worship persist. Zombie religion: The period where belief is lost, but religious morals and habits (discipline, work ethic) keep society together. Irreligion: The period where religious values and the ideologies derived from them are completely erased, and the individual becomes isolated.

Todd stated that the West is currently in the “irreligion” stage, which breeds nihilism, and made the following observation:

“The individual has been deprived of fundamental values. The fear of emptiness turns into the glorification of emptiness, that is, a passion for destruction. The current mood of the West is partly this: Nihilism. This leads to a passion for war in the mind and a preference for war in geopolitics.”

Ukraine and Gaza

Stating that Western powers view themselves as being on the “side of justice” even in wars they have provoked, Todd reiterated that the root cause of the Ukraine crisis was NATO expansion.

Noting that this war is defensive for Russia, the historian said, “It is clear to me that the Americans and Europeans are aggressors who have advanced to within a thousand kilometers of Moscow. But what is truly fascinating is that these aggressors believe they are the ones under attack. There is an element of madness in our situation in Europe.”

Criticizing the situation in Gaza in harsh terms as well, Todd suggested that Israel is being remote-controlled by the US. Citing the inconsistency in Donald Trump’s policies as an example of “moral zero point,” the author used the following expressions:

“Trump can dream of evacuating Gaza and turning it into a coastline one day, and the next day order Israel to stop and demand a peace prize. Wanting genocide one day and wanting a Nobel Peace Prize the next is proof of moral destitution.”

Stating that the pro-war attitude within Europe is particularly evident in Protestant countries (the UK, Scandinavia, Northern Germany), Todd argued that Catholic countries (Italy, Spain) are more moderate.

Todd noted that Protestantism’s rejection of the material world and visuality leaves a “great void” behind when belief is lost. In contrast, he expressed that Catholicism sanctifies the world and art, so even if belief fades, the sense of “the beauty of the world” remains.

Todd evaluated Japan’s position in this context as well:

“Japan reaching the zero point of religion has created a mood more similar to Catholic countries than Protestant ones. The importance Japan places on nature and beauty protects it from the danger of nihilism. This is what I felt when I visited Miyajima with my daughter Louise: The sense of the world’s beauty is still alive here.”

Call for a “Realistic Dialogue” on Nuclear Weapons

In the conversation between Hiroshima University President Mitsuo Ochi and Todd following the conference, the subject of nuclear weapons was raised.

Despite President Ochi’s anti-nuclear stance, Todd defended the “balance of terror” thesis.

Todd explained his view on nuclear weapons as follows:

“The balance of terror is better than asymmetry. That is, a balance between countries possessing nuclear weapons is preferable to a situation where one has them and the other does not. Nuclear weapons are now a reality, and this problem cannot be resolved solely through a distinction between good and evil.”

President Ochi, recalling Hiroshima’s historical legacy, replied, “Nuclear deterrence is a difficult concept for Hiroshima citizens to accept, both logically and ethically.”

To Ochi’s question regarding what strategy he would pursue if a movement were launched for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, Todd’s answer was short and clear:

“I never think about impossible things. Life is too short for that.”