|
|
|
|
Anti-China fear and loathing in
Japan
By J Sean
Curtin
As the physical damage caused by a
month-long series of anti-Japanese demonstrations
is methodically being repaired across China, there
are strong indications that Japanese sentiment
about the Middle Kingdom will not be so easily
mended. The violent eruption of anger directed
against Tokyo appears to have seriously harmed
Japanese perceptions of its giant neighbor and
generated a growing anti-Chinese mood. Unless
leaders on both sides work hard to improve the
situation, ties between the two peoples look set
to deteriorate still further.
For the
moment, bilateral tensions appear to be easing,
especially after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi recently expressed "deep remorse" and a
"heartfelt apology" for Japan's wartime
wrongdoings in Jakarta before the Asia-Africa
summit. Since then Beijing has adopted a tough
policy towards unauthorized demonstrations,
discouraged a boycott of Japanese goods, and toned
down its own anti-Japanese rhetoric.
The
current lull in hostilities is allowing ordinary
Japanese to reflect on the recent unexpected turn
of events. While there is a diverse range of
opinions on the issue, the consensus is that
China's image has been severely dented.
The display of raw, and sometimes violent,
anger directed at Tokyo has forced a great many
Japanese to reappraise their biggest trading
partner. In general, people are extremely uneasy
over how future relations will develop with what
is now considered a highly volatile and
threatening neighbor.
Sayuri Uchida, an office
administrator in her thirties, captures the current
sense of Japanese anxiety. She explained, "Seeing
angry crowds of young Chinese attack Japanese
property does not make you feel positive about
China. You could see real hate in people's eyes.
I used to feel our countries could be friends,
but now all I feel is scared."
The
Japanese media has repeatedly shown images of
angry groups of Chinese youths viciously attacking
Japanese diplomatic missions and businesses. The
most frequently broadcast pictures are of the
Japanese consulate in Shanghai that sustained
considerable damage in a violent onslaught.
Tens of thousands of angry protesters
hurled barrages of rocks, bricks, bottles, paint
and rotten fruit at the building as Chinese police
looked on passively. Walls were covered in paint,
windows smashed and the grounds plastered with
tens of thousand of projectiles. The once gleaming
consulate looked a complete wreck, shocking the
Japanese public.
Even the most apolitical
of Japanese could not fail but get a powerful
message from such disturbing images. Kaori
Sugimoto, a young university student, confessed,
"I never realized how much some Chinese people
really hate Japan until now."
Initially,
the intensity of the anger, and sheer scale of the
protests simply overwhelmed many Japanese, who
were just not prepared for such outbursts.
However, as the days have passed many ordinary
people, who previously never thought much about
relations with their giant neighbor, have become
gravely concerned.
Kazushi, a medical
doctor in his mid-thirties, asking not to be
identified further, captures the thoughts of many,
"I haven't really paid much attention to China.
After watching the attacks on Japanese targets, I
felt very alarmed. If the Chinese government
allows that level of violence against us, China is
not safe for Japanese people. It's a potential
threat to our country. We will have to be very
careful."
As a direct result of the stormy
protests, thousands of Japanese canceled holidays
to China. Alarmingly, the country's reputation has
not just suffered a spectacular nosedive among the
adult population, but young Japanese, who are
normally immune to such bilateral turbulence, are
also reacting negatively.
Yuki Honma, an
18-year nursing student, summed up the feelings of
many young people. She told Asia Times Online,
"Before, China never really registered big on my
radar. I thought it was a friendly country, so I
am confused. I can't understand why so many young
Chinese are so angry with Japan about a war that
happened long before they or I were born. Why do
they want to hurt Japanese people for things that
happened 60 years ago?"
A senior Japanese
diplomat, who did not wish to be identified,
expressed a view common among policymakers, "What
worries me is that the situation could easily spin
out of control. Beijing is playing a very
dangerous game. The nationalist fires it has
unleashed could so easily become uncontrollable,
burning not only us but them as well."
Hiroshi, a teacher in his mid-forties,
explained why a lot of Japanese feel China has no
right to lecture them. He pointed out, "Japan is a
democratic country, its leaders are openly elected
and there is press freedom. We can express our
views without fear of persecution or imprisonment.
None of this applies to China. There you have no
genuine elections, no free speech, just an
undemocratic Communist Party."
What
is also noticeable about the recent tensions is
that they have begun to generate a growing
anti-Chinese mood. While it is still small and tame, compared
with its fire-breathing Chinese counterpart, it
nevertheless has the real potential to further
inflame bilateral passions.
Masahiro
Kikuchi, an office worker in his early forties,
articulated a lot of these increasingly common
sentiments. He told Asia Times Online, "China
deliberately exaggerates what happened during the
war to try to keep Japan down and hide its own
problems. We have apologized for the war, but has
the Chinese government said 'sorry' to the parents
of the students it murdered in Tiananmen? Has it
admitted that Mao Zedong killed millions in the
Cultural Revolution?"
He also commented,
"China is just a bully. If you submit to their
unreasonable demands once, they will just make
more and we will end up apologizing every week."
Kenji, who runs a car repair business,
voices another common Japanese grievance: "The
Chinese complain about Japanese history textbooks
distorting history, but the Chinese are much more
guilty of whitewashing their own history than we
could ever be."
Akira Ishii, a retired
restaurant owner, is even more critical. He said,
"An unelected dictatorship with blood on its hands
is in no position to instruct Japan in matters of
history, apologies or anything
else ... I don't think we need to apologize to
China. We have already done too much. It's
regrettable that Koizumi recently apologized in
front of [Chinese President] Hu Jintao. After what
the mad Chinese mobs did to Japanese property,
China should apologize to Japan and not the other
way around."
At the
recent Asia-Africa summit in Jakarta, Koizumi
expressed "deep remorse" and a "heartfelt apology"
for Japan's wartime actions. The gathering was
attended by Hu, who met Koizumi after he
delivered the apology.
Voices at the other
end of the spectrum feel that some of the blame
for the trouble lies with Japan, but even these
moderates are concerned about how relations with
China will develop. Ryoji Yamauchi, president of
Asahikawa University, explained, "The exploitation
of historic issues by Chinese leaders for
political advantage is totally unfair, but we have
to acknowledge that they could not do this if
there were not some genuine grievances underlying
their claims."
One of the
main focal points of friction is prime
ministerial patronage of the war-tainted Yasukuni
Shrine. The establishment honors Japan's war dead, but
is also dedicated to 14 convicted Class-A
war criminals. Koizumi's annual visit to the
controversial shrine has angered the Chinese public and
enraged its leaders who believe such
pilgrimages demonstrate that Tokyo is not genuinely sorry
for the atrocities it committed during
its brutal occupation of China. Both Hu
and Premier Wen Jiabao have warned Koizumi not to
visit the shrine in 2005. He has not visited this
year.
Yamauchi commented, "While I
absolutely condemn the damage done to Japanese
interests in China, the blame for creating the
tense environment that allowed this to happen
falls heavily on Koizumi. He has been the most
nationalist leader in recent memory and his visits
to the Yasukuni Shrine have deeply offended many
Chinese and greatly boosted Japanese
ultra-nationalists."
He concluded, "It is
extremely dangerous to ignore Chinese historic
sensitivities. Unless Koizumi grasps this, mutual
perceptions between our peoples will rapidly
deteriorate. If he doesn't realize this fatal
error soon, Koizumi will put both countries on a
destructive collision course. An outcome that will
result in immense harm for us all."
J Sean Curtin is a GLOCOM fellow
at the Tokyo-based Japanese Institute of Global
Communications.
(Copyright 2005 Asia
Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
|
