<h2>Japanese people are digitally controlled.</h2>
<figure id="attachment_405559" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405559" style="width: 2044px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b816a877"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/42702e5f48275b5740905e3842938e32.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405559" class="wp-caption-text"> Seki was interviewed at Sekilberg Cafe in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo, where he runs his own business, and where &#8220;Mr. Urban Legend: The Urban Legend Behind Akio Seki&#8221; will be available on the vertical short drama app &#8220;Tate Dora,&#8221; scheduled for release in mid-December.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Looking back, I&#8217;ve always been telling people what&#8217;s going to happen about five years before they know it,&#8221; he said. I was also pointing out that an unknown virus was going to strike around the year &#8217;15.</span></p>
<p> Akio Seki, 49, a.k.a. &#8220;Mr. Urban Legend,&#8221; recalls with his unique intonation. In October, Seki published a new book titled &#8220;Mr. Urban Legend: Akio Seki&#8217;s &#8216;Dandadan&#8217;: A New Book of Dissection of Supernatural Phenomena&#8221; (SB Creative).</p>
<p> In the U.S. presidential election held in November of this year, a large amount of information spread by unidentified sources had a considerable impact on the election situation and results. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Japan&#8217;s Hyogo gubernatorial election. Fake news and conspiracy theories are now being spread and even influencing politics.</p>
<p> How can we survive in this chaotic super-information society?　Seki, who has taken the world by storm by analyzing a variety of information from the mysteries of ancient civilizations to the backstage of politics from his unique perspective, revealed to FRIDAY how to &#8220;deal wisely with untrue Internet information.</p>
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<h3> Smartphones will increasingly become a &#8220;brainwashing tool.</h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the recent presidential election, Elon Musk, owner of X, gave his full support to Trump and successfully got him elected. It showed how influential the digital community can be. We&#8217;ve come to a world where most people believe what they see on their smartphone or computer screen rather than what they see or hear firsthand.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Older people today don&#8217;t seem to touch smartphones much, but the time is coming when almost everyone in the entire world will have a smartphone in their hands. So, smartphones will become more and more a &#8216;brainwashing tool.</span></p>
<p> Seki continued, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Brainwashing by smartphones in Japan is more advanced than in other countries.</span></p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Japanese people seem to be under the impression that they cannot be brainwashed. But nowadays, social networking services have become the means of gathering information for the majority of people. This is proof that the Japanese people are being controlled by a single application. It is very easy to control the Japanese people&#8217;s thinking because they have been brainwashed unconsciously.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" How to break free from digital domination..."></div>
<h3>Toward a World Without Bodies</h3>
<p> Seki&#8217;s concern is that there is no clear path out of digital domination.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Many people who are raising children today give their children tablets as soon as they cry. They watch videos on their tablets from before they can remember, and then they stop crying and go to &#8230;&#8230; and repeat the process. When our primal experiences are like this, it&#8217;s only natural that we come to trust what we see on the screen of our digital devices more than what humans tell us.</span></p>
<p> So, what is needed to break free from digital domination and to discern the truth of the information we are bombarded with every day like a shower? Seki intensifies his argument.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> If we become too immersed in the virtual reality of the digital world, we lose the instinct to sense the threat to our lives as living creatures. It may be abstract, but I can only say, &#8216;Make as much time as possible to come into contact with the analog world.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> To begin with, information is something you have to earn with your feet. We have to get out of the situation where the machines are taking control. The information that comes to us as &#8220;fact&#8221; is actually &#8220;what is considered fact. It is important to treat what you are exposed to as if it is material for brainwashing.</span></p>
<p> Seki recommends a return to analog, but ironically, digital is becoming the primary means of communication on a global scale. He says that the ultimate goal is &#8220;a world in which the body is no longer needed.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> He says, &#8220;Communication using avatars in VR spaces will go into full swing in the near future. In the near future, we will be able to leave our consciousness and emotions in virtual space. In other words, it will be possible to dissociate the human spirit from the body. Then, there will be people who feel joy in using avatars and claim that they do not need a body in the real world. I predict that there will also be a business of renting out the body of a person who is in the process of dissolving to another person. We will be forced to choose between digital and analog. By then, we will have to decide which path we prefer.</span></p>
<p> Whether you believe him or not is up to you.</p>
<figure id="attachment_405563" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405563" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="12a204a3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/8349a562e4dcd78d74fe84a3012ddf09.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405563" class="wp-caption-text"> Cut not published in this magazine &#8220;Mr. Urban Legend,&#8221; Akio Seki, makes an urgent proposal! How to deal wisely with &#8220;untrue information on the Internet</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_405567" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405567" style="width: 1667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="96f76868"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/1f8ae3cbb4b9e340eea2d2f9fe6c0d90.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405567" class="wp-caption-text"> Cut from an unpublished article &#8220;Mr. Urban Legend&#8221; Akio Seki makes an urgent proposal! How to deal wisely with &#8220;Untrue net information</figcaption></figure>
<p> From &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; December 27, 2024 issue</p>


 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 Mr. Urban Legend" Akio Seki says that "Japanese people are under the control of the digital world. How can we survive in this super information society where fake news and conspiracy theories are flying all over the Internet and SNS? Seki offers his urgent suggestions!

Mr. Urban Legend” Akio Seki makes an urgent proposal!　How to deal with “Untrue information on the Internet

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Mr. Urban Legend” Akio Seki makes an urgent proposal! How to deal with “Untrue information on the Internet

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Mr. Urban Legend” Akio Seki makes an urgent proposal!　How to deal with “Untrue information on the Internet