Jorge Rafael Videla en Japón

Abstract

The visit to Japan, in October 1979, of Lieutenant-General Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina’s dictator between 1976 and 1981, is a historical event not very well known and less analyzed by experts. Based upon a series of notes published in the English newspaper The Japan Times, edited in Tokyo, in October 1979, this article analyzes the covering of Videla’s visit and his accompanying team, as well as three photographs (from a semiotic perspective) which illustrates the notes. The apparent purpose of the visit was to make up the repressive face of the Argentinian military Junta headed by Videla, both by Argentinian’s representatives based in Japan and the newspaper.