stylistic:tone
Views

"If you don't spend time watching real people, you can't do this, because you've never seen it. Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves. Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people... It's produced by humans who can't stand looking at other humans. And that's why the industry is full of otaku !"

Hayao Miyazaki, January 2014

Miyazaki has often criticized the state of the animation industry, stating that some animators lack a foundational understanding of their subjects and do not prioritize realism. He is particularly critical of Japanese animation, saying that anime is "produced by humans who can't stand looking at other humans... that's why the industry is full of otaku !". He has frequently criticized otaku, including "fanatics" of guns and fighter aircraft, declaring it a "fetish" and refusing to identify himself as such. He bemoaned the state of Disney animated films in 1988, saying "they show nothing but contempt for the audience".

In 2013, Miyazaki criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 's policies and the proposed Constitutional amendment that would allow Abe to revise the clause outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes. Miyazaki felt Abe wished to "leave his name in history as a great man who revised the Constitution and its interpretation", describing it as "despicable" and stating "People who don't think enough shouldn't meddle with the constitution". In 2015, Miyazaki disapproved Abe's denial of Japan's military aggression, stating Japan "should clearly say that inflicted enormous damage on China and express deep remorse over it". He felt the government should give a "proper apology" to Korean comfort women who were forced to service the Japanese army during World War II and suggested the Senkaku Islands be "split in half" or controlled by both Japan and China. After the release of The Wind Rises in 2013, some online critics labeled Miyazaki a "traitor" and "anti-Japanese", describing the film as overly " left-wing "; Miyazaki recognized leftist values in his movies, citing his influence by and appreciation of communism as defined by Karl Marx, but criticized the Soviet Union 's political system.

When Spirited Away was nominated at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003, Miyazaki refused to attend in protest of the United States's involvement in the Iraq War, and later said he "didn't want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq". He did not publicly express this opinion at the request of his producer until 2009 when he lifted his boycott and attended San Diego Comic Con International as a favor to his friend John Lasseter. Miyazaki also expressed his opinion about the terrorist attack at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, criticizing the magazine's decision to publish the content cited as the catalyst for the incident; he felt caricatures should be made of politicians, not cultures. In November 2016, Miyazaki believed "many of the people who voted for Brexit and Trump " were affected by the increase in unemployment due to companies "building cars in Mexico because of low wages and them in the US". He did not think Donald Trump would be elected president, calling it "a terrible thing", but said Trump's political opponent Hillary Clinton was "terrible as well".