What do you think of patriotism in Buddhism?

When we say “patriotism,” it means that if you are Japanese, you have a fondness for Japan after distinguishing between Japan and others.
For example, if a child who was educated using Japanese taxes becomes an adult and becomes a rich person who pays a lot of taxes, abandons Japan and goes overseas, it will be a loss for Japan.
Therefore, due to the national system, it is unavoidable to place emphasis on patriotism.
If you belong to a team called Japan, at least don't do an own goal or anything for the opposing team.
Even in Buddhism, as an activity in a secular society, there is no denying that Japanese people work hard for Japan, that students at ◯◯ high school do their best in club activities for their own high school, and that families work for their own families.
However, that means there is no denying concrete action.
On the emotional side, Buddhism does not recommend separating oneself from others, one's own country from another country, and favoring others or hating others.
Buddhism believes that it is better to get rid of anger and hate and develop a heart of compassion for happiness.
Being patriotic is fine, but it is not good in Buddhism about hating others (foreigners or Japanese people who are not patriotic) because of patriotism.

I often listen to the speeches of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. You can listen to it as much as you want on the internet, so I would recommend it to you as well.

What the pope always says is that we are earthlings. It's easy to distinguish them by race, ethnicity, nationality, etc., but first of all, they are earthlings. Now you can easily watch videos showing the Earth from space, but no matter where you look, you can't find anything that looks like a border on Earth. Humans created a boundary saying “this is my own land” without permission, and it probably became a large-scale border. Disputes have arisen since they created an “own land” that was not originally there, and they will probably continue to occur in the future. I don't think a nation will disappear, but it can be said that the Buddhist way of thinking is to first stand on the awareness that they are earthlings rather than using the position of a nation as a unique identity.

Furthermore, there are certainly cultural differences between ethnic groups, and it is also necessary to acknowledge and value each other's differences. It has been denied that the method of ignoring it, using Western Europe or China as the norm, and forcibly assimilating it (called facilitation) into it is abusive. In other words, it can be said that the approach of countries such as ●● and ××, which seems to have anti-Japanese exclusion as the national policy is wrong. It would be difficult to deal with people who are steeped in such a country's way of doing things.

Even so, there must be things you can understand as you patiently start dating. I volunteer at a Japanese language class for foreigners, so I sometimes realize that there are times when humans can get along well with each other (although sometimes not). It can be said that everything a nation does is similar. There must be no difference between what Japan did to China a long time ago and what China did to Tibet or Uyghur. However, even if you say this, it will only result in a fight, and it won't do anything. However, I think there are times when individual people can understand each other.

　I mean the “Buddhist” answer, but first (as is often the case) do you know about nationalism and patriotism? Speaking in my own way of looking at it, “nationalism” seems to be an image (also called patriotism) of a loose area centered around oneself, such as “since you are here, cherish and protect this place,” the latter seems to be an image of a loose area centered around oneself, such as “birthplace or local area.”
When you say “speaking ill of Japan,” it's clearly the former idea. They stand on the story of “defeating Japan in war,” and are being told by the current administration, “So listen to us.”
On the other hand, with the latter approach, there is no need to speak ill of others in the first place. It's probably about being proud of the country.
In my opinion, using the fact that “let's cherish the local community,” everyone can't help but agree, as a stepping stone, “So, cherish the countries that include that region. If you blindly follow “listen to those of us who run that country (because I'm the Prime Minister)”, I feel like it won't be a good thing.
More than that, it is probably prominent in Kamakura Buddhism, but I think Japanese Buddhism has an undivided view that “you and I are probably ordinary people.”
... “Japan's?” You'll want to say that. However, it seems that Buddha was also told by a fortune teller right after he was born, “If you become the king of one country, you will be a great king; otherwise, you will save the entire human race,” but he chose the latter path and led to Buddhism. In other words, it has jumped over the border of a country in the first place.
Now, it's about “meeting an unfriendly attitude.” There are times when I think it might be difficult to “love my hometown” in his country.
I have no intention of saying “I don't care about countries, etc.,” but I value “my hometown” that comes to mind rather than “Japan” expressed in words like what I read in textbooks. I think we must not forget that specificity. Therefore, he said, “We also call the region we were born in and the place where we grew up. Why don't you say, “What kind of place did you grow up in?” If it becomes a story about “Wow, I'd like to go to that,” it would already lead to a friendly relationship, right?

Buddhism does not deny the existence of a nation itself. There is a teaching that we must not forget to be grateful for the Four Graces (Shion), but the Four Graces are the blessings of parents, the king's blessings, the blessings of sentient beings, and the Three Treasures (there are multiple opinions). It's impossible not to forgive patriotism when thanking the king, so patriotism cannot be denied either.

Since the Buddha himself was a prince in the first place, the idea that the people will be rich only when the nation is managed correctly is naturally incorporated. That's why the Buddha persuaded King Bimbisara and King Ajase to create an honest nation, and Buddhism in later generations followed that regardless of the past, present, east, or west. Well, even if you say Buddhism in one word, it's actually so diverse that there are 88,000 Dharma words, so I can't say everything unequivocally...

Now, it is said that in a fairly old sutra called the Hakku Sutra, Buddha said this.
“Don't say harsh words. Those who have been told will speak back to you. Angry words are painful. Retaliation will come upon you.” (133, translated by Nakamura Hajime, Iwanami Bunko)
“Like a broken bell, if you don't speak up, you have reached peace. For you will no longer be angry and curse.” (134)
“But fools do bad deeds and don't notice. Shallow fools are bothered by what they have done themselves. — Like someone who was burned by a fire.” (136)

I can't stop my suffering when I hold a grudge against others and make them apologize. If you don't stop holding a grudge against yourself, you won't be able to save yourself. If you keep holding grudges for a thousand years, you will be tightening your neck for a thousand years. No matter which country it is, people who have abandoned Buddhism don't notice it.
(Meanwhile, Japanese people are also forgetting it... in the old days they said they hated sins and didn't hate people, but recently, thoroughly condemn them! That trend is getting stronger, isn't it? (This is also a state of mind that strangles oneself)

Let's love our country. And let's love other countries just like our home countries. If you don't do that, you'll just upset your own mind.

Finally, when confronted with an unfriendly attitude, Dogen Zenji said that this should be done.
“I like pretending to be inaudible and ignoring it (rather than saying it back and forth)”