Why do so many Americans call Governor Ishihara of Tokyo a racist?

Question:

Governor Ishihara is oftentimes called "racist" by many foreigners and foreign medias in Japan. Probably because his harsh remarks against the US and China? I don't know.
But the fact is that he is extremely popular among the Japanese.
In fact he was elected as the governor for 4 consecutive terms (16 years) by overwhelming voters in Tokyo..

Prior to that, he served for the national government as a cabinet member during his 8 consecutive terms as a member of the House of Representative.
Why do you think Governor Iahihara is so popular not only among the voters in Tokyo but throughout the nation of Japan for so many years?

Answer:

Most of the time or historically, politicians have been right-wing (in their mind), which is really close to the concept of "nationalism"
At least politicians should NOT be "LEFT-wing"

あの人は問題発言が多いし、政治家はどちらかと言えば ｢右｣でしょう。
政治家になる人は｢左｣ じゃいけませんから。。

｢（姜尚中・東大教授について）怪しげな外国人が出てきてね。生意気だ、あいつは｣

こういうのがたくさんメディアで取り上げられるから、それが特に人種差別や人権に
敏感なアメリカでは、やや誇張されて報道されるんだと思います。
http://matome.naver.jp/odai/212916168489…
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2) why he is popular among the Japanese

He doesn't hesitate to speak out.
He's smart enough to entertain media/people.

*On February 20, 2006, Ishihara also said:
"Roppongi is now virtually a foreign neighborhood. Africans — I don't mean African-Americans — who don't speak English are there doing who knows what. This is leading to new forms of crime such as car theft. We should be letting in people who are intelligent."

The US media is very happy to introduce this kind ....
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@Yoda: "Are you saying "racist" and "popular" are mutually exclusive?" Good point.
People who don't like Ishihara usually call him "racist"
People, who support Ishihara with some "gaijin complex" which is often misunderstood "racism", like his honesty.
I think this is the reality in Japan today....