Sino japanese discussion thread.
-
anyway dont think too highly of the germans. racism is still prevalent there. a former european colleague once advised me against saying things pertaining to nazi in germany. it is still a sensitive topic. i seriously dont think europeans or anyone for that matter, is comfortable with it.Originally posted by Tuatau:"History will always be distorted so long as politicians and textbook publishers,
driven by political and profit motives, control the educational system."
- Howard Zinn, American historian
There is no country in this world not guilty of "distorting facts and cover-up in their textbooks". Even the Singapore government cannot claim to be free from approving history textbooks written as subjected to their own perceptions.
It may be downright insensitive for the Japanese government to gloss over the war atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II in their history textbooks, and many would defend that it is their own business and they were doing just what every other country would do.
However, put that action in conjunction with their call for amendment to Article 9 in Japan's post-war Constitution that forbids armed troops abroad, with Japan's bid for a Permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, with the recent visit of Japanese ministers to Yasukuni Shrine, and most observers can get a rough big picture of Japan's political ambitions. And it is not a pretty picture.
Of course these could all be speculative. However, if Japan wishes to learn from the example of Germany and be accepted as a leader of U.N., it should learn from the Germany after World War II, not the Germany before then. -
Originally posted by dragg:
Yes. There are still many neo-Nazi underground movements in Europe and parts of America. Skinheads have become a common sight especially in East Germany ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
anyway dont think too highly of the germans. racism is still prevalent there. a former european colleague once advised me against saying things pertaining to nazi in germany. it is still a sensitive topic. i seriously dont think europeans or anyone for that matter, is comfortable with it.
All in all, we must always be sensitive to other people's feelings. It is very bad form indeed to bring up the low points in people's history in any casual conversation with foreign friends, colleagues or superiors. -
Even today, right-wing militant Japanese organisation routinely target ethnic Koreans and other Asians in many cities.
What is more worrying is some senior Japanese politicians received popular vote even after publicly stating their ultra-nationalistic views, belief in a superior "Yamato" race, rejecting reality of Japanese WW2 atrocoties and, of course, attempt to "re-educate" future Japanese about their forefather's crimes.
Take popular politicians like Shintaro Ishihara, the current governor of Tokyo, we do not see similar character in today's Germany political scene.
Below is a link to a recent interview with this man. He shared his view on Taiwan issue and what a rearmed Japan might bring to the region.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200504/kt2005042416024254240.htm -
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/04/29/latam.sextrafficking.ap/index.html
Report: Japan sex industry ensnares Latin women
Sunday, May 1, 2005 Posted: 11:18 AM EDT (1518 GMT)
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- At least 1,700 women from Latin America and the Caribbean are lured each year into sexual slavery in Japan's huge illicit sex industry, according to a new report.
Japan came under mounting international pressure last year after it was downgraded in the U.S. State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It became the only industrialized, developed nation to be placed on a special "watch list" of countries on the verge of falling into the report's lowest category, the OAS study noted.
A team of researchers hired by the Organization of American States found that most of the Latin American women come from Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.
The team of researchers -- led by Phillip Linderman, an expert on loan from the U.S. State Department -- presented the "Rapid Assessment Report" to an international seminar on human trafficking sponsored by Peru's Foreign Ministry on Friday.
The OAS analysis was culled from interviews with presumed victims, Japanese immigration records and crime data.
The 37-page report estimated tens of thousands of undocumented foreign women in Japan, mostly from other Asian countries, are exploited by crime organizations.
Japan's National Police Agency estimates the sex trade industry there to be worth $83 billion a year
Linderman said governments on both sides of the Pacific paid little attention to the problem until recently.
The Colombian Embassy in Japan stood out, aggressively working to identify and assist the estimated 4,000 Colombians it believes are human trafficking victims.
But Linderman said the figures in his report probably represent only a percentage of trafficking victims, particularly from other Latin American countries like Peru, which is just starting to tackle the issue.
"The ties between Japan and Peru are larger for historical reasons, for migratory reasons, for all kinds of reasons, than they are between Colombia and Japan. And it's our position right now in the preliminary study that there are many more victims here," he told The Associated Press.
He said a typical trafficking scenario is that of Irene Oblitas, a Peruvian who told her story last year to her country's media. She said that in 1998 she boarded a plane with three Japanese businessmen who had promised her a job in a plastics factory.
When she arrived she was raped by all three men and sold to a Yakuza organized crime boss, who branded her across the chest with a 6-inch (15-centimeter) rose tattoo. He forced her to provide sexual services to up to 40 clients a day, she said.
She escaped after eight months with the help of other Peruvian expatriates, according to the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
"The scenario of Oblitas' case unfortunately seems to be a typical one," Linderman said.
Oblitas' case was not mentioned in the OAS report. Human rights organizations say she later fled to a neighboring South American country, fearing reprisals after she started receiving death threats.
In response "the government of Japan announced a new national plan to combat human trafficking in December 2004," the OAS report continued.
Chieko Tatsumi, of the International Organized Crime Division in Japan's Foreign Ministry, came to Lima to attend the seminar and said her government launched an aggressive public ad campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking.
"I think the Japanese people are paying more attention to these issues," she said.
But she and other Japanese officials disagreed with the OAS report's assertion that sexual trafficking from Latin America and the Caribbean is a much larger problem than the initial figures indicate.
The full study will not be complete until later this year. -
Originally posted by nismoS132:
There are other ways to respect deceased ancestors. One could always choose to pray respects, on a personal level, in front of a family altar at home or a temple. Praying to ancestors in a national shrine built for glorifying mass-murderers and gang-rapists is as good as giving a tight-handed slap across the cheeks of the victims' descendants.
if your late grandparents were murderers, do you stop praying to them at qing ming? -
Originally posted by boy in blues:
On the surface, the Japanese seem to be a morally upright society championing traditional Confucian beliefs, such as emphasis on loyalty above all other virtues, and enforcing the role of women as homemakers.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/04/29/latam.sextrafficking.ap/index.html
Report: Japan sex industry ensnares Latin women
Sunday, May 1, 2005 Posted: 11:18 AM EDT (1518 GMT)
Turn over the shell and the depravity of the Japanese, especially of the men, is revealed in full view on the underside. It is this mental depravity that has perhaps elevated the deviant forms of adult culture, like panty fetish, lolita complex, and bondage obsession to mainstream status generally accepted in their society. It is perhaps also this mental depravity that has driven their soldiers on a maniacal rampage of wanton slaughter and rape during battle.
Wars bring out the worst nature in people. It is common for soldiers to sack and plunder a city after conquest, but the image -- yes, they were so proud that they even posed and took pictures of themselves committing the acts -- of a Japanese soldier holding the head of a prisoner grinning at the camera speaks volumes about how low the mentality of a Japanese could sink, how bereft of conscience a Japanese soul could degenerate. -
its all interlinked.Originally posted by Tuatau:On the surface, the Japanese seem to be a morally upright society championing traditional Confucian beliefs, such as emphasis on loyalty above all other virtues, and enforcing the role of women as homemakers.
Turn over the shell and the depravity of the Japanese, especially of the men, is revealed in full view on the underside. It is this mental depravity that has perhaps elevated the deviant forms of adult culture, like panty fetish, lolita complex, and bondage obsession to mainstream status generally accepted in their society. It is perhaps also this mental depravity that has driven their soldiers on a maniacal rampage of wanton slaughter and rape during battle.
Wars bring out the worst nature in people. It is common for soldiers to sack and plunder a city after conquest, but the image -- yes, they were so proud that they even posed and took pictures of themselves committing the acts -- of a Japanese soldier holding the head of a prisoner grinning at the camera speaks volumes about how low the mentality of a Japanese could sink, how bereft of conscience a Japanese soul could degenerate.
Wartime mentallity, conglomerate culture, sex/fetish industry...
Even today, Japanese men are well-known to be 'beasts'.
Theres a certain 'power' or 'egoistic' struggle/mentality. -
\Originally posted by Tuatau:Praying to ancestors in a national shrine built for glorifying mass-murderers and gang-rapists is as good as giving a tight-handed slap across the cheeks of the victims' descendants.History
The shrine was originally constructed in June 1869 by order of the Meiji Emperor to commemorate the victims of the Boshin War. riginally named Tokyo; Shokonsha, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja in 1879. The shrine has performed Shinto rites to house the kami (spirits) of all Japanese and former colonial soldiers (Korean and Taiwanese) killed in conflict since then.This was not a political issue back then as Yasukuni was supposed to enshrine all Japanese War casualties. However, on October 17, 1978, 13 Class A war criminals (according to the judgement of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East), including Hideki Tojo, were quietly enshrined as "Martyrs of Showa".
i'm glad you're able to see things in context. -
Originally posted by nismoS132:
I'm also glad you're able to include this in your reply: 'However, on October 17, 1978, 13 Class A war criminals (according to the judgement of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East), including Hideki Tojo, were quietly enshrined as "Martyrs of Showa"'.
i'm glad you're able to see things in context.
Why war criminals would be honoured in a shrine meant for all Japanese war casualties (which just so happens to include Japanese soldiers who perished in their mass-murdering and gang-raping efforts) is beyond my limited comprehension. I must admit I haven't seen many cases where perpetrators of a crime could be honoured as victims. Perhaps you would care to enlighten and make us "see things in context" as well?
Anyway, appreciate the history lesson. I must be getting rusty. -
the point is that it's a shrine built for war dead during japan's civil war and others since then, not just soldiers from the ww2. put things in perspective. i never said having those 13 of them there are right, but it's only 13 of them versus how many tens of thousands other dead people resting there. you're condemning an entire shrine just because of 13 criminals.
you might as well stop visiting any and all graves, since there're bound to be at least 1 criminal in them. -
Originally posted by nismoS132:
It is the symbolism the shrine stands for in the eyes of the Japanese and of the world. After enshrining the 13 criminals, the shrine is no longer just a grave for war dead. It has become a symbol for glorifying the cause of Japan's involvement in World War II and for defending the actions of the Japanese army during that period. Even some Japanese people have voiced protest against that controversial move.
the point is that it's a shrine built for war dead during japan's civil war and others since then, not just soldiers from the ww2. put things in perspective. i never said having those 13 of them there are right, but it's only 13 of them versus how many tens of thousands other dead people resting there. you're condemning an entire shrine just because of 13 criminals.
you might as well stop visiting any and all graves, since there're bound to be at least 1 criminal in them.
If you have visited the shrine's English-language website, the tone of that symbolism is unmistakable. The "testamentary letter" on the home page reveals a navy captainÂ’s desire to contribute to "the building of the new order of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity with the spirit of universal brotherhood" (which incidentally includes killing the brother and raping his wife). The Q & A page refers to those war criminals as those "who were cruelly and unjustly tried as war criminals by a sham-like tribunal of the Allied forces" (as compared to the victims of their atrocities who were not even given a trial before they were mercifully and rightfully executed).
While nobody certainly can stop families of criminals from paying respects at the graves, families of victims have a right to question the motive when leaders of a country band together and pray in unison to honour the graves of the criminals.
There is nothing wrong with the act itself. It is the motive, put in context with the symbolism of the shrine, that makes the act wrong. -
Context ? What context ? You have deliberately quoted out-of-context from a site. I almost fell off my chair when I see that you only extracted part of the complete article from this site to reinforce your argument. Tsk tsk tsk.Originally posted by nismoS132:i'm glad you're able to see things in context.
Did you happened to read the rest of this site's content?
For the reader's benefit, the article URL is http://www.answers.com/topic/yasukuni-shrine
This article clearly explains the reasons behind the shrine's controversy, which I believe is already attainted with evil, spiritually speaking. This Evil has been pay homage by elected Japanese politicians and influential figures.
Koizumi was also quoted saying: "Why keep blaming the dead for the crimes they committed when they were alive".
My answer to him is "Why keep worshipping the condemned when such act will keep the past wounds open and alive ? "
By consistently visiting the shrine as a capacity of a PM of Japan, Koizumi is sending out an alarming signal to the minds of Japan's WW2 victims.
The continued courtship of these "gods" and sanatization of their history books points gravely in a collision course with the rest of Asia.
Japanese gov can say its 18th or more "apologies" for all I care, but like I hv said before, Action Speaks louder than words. -
At anytime, you remember your murderer grandparents as your grandparents, but do you also teach you children not to commit the crime you grandparents committed? For if you don't and if unfortunately your children were to cause the death of others, by accident or intent, your family will become a family of murderers. Is it in the blood? or the lack of family education?Originally posted by nismoS132:if your late grandparents were murderers, do you stop praying to them at qing ming?
If your neighbours were to kill your grandparents, I am sure you will always remember them as the murderers, during qing ming or any time, don't you? How do you feel if every now and then, your neighbour bring in the sai gong and praise their grandfather for the "gong de", the good things done in their life? -
Interesting, do you visit all graves?? many friends there??Originally posted by nismoS132:you might as well stop visiting any and all graves, since there're bound to be at least 1 criminal in them.
Yasukuni shrine were original built for war casualties, then they put in the war heros, and then they put in the war criminals. I don't know japanese, but in english language, are there no difference between war casualties, war heros and war criminals or just War Dead?? Are there no difference between the innocent, the good and the bad guys?? or are they putting the bad guys among the good guys and make them all good guys??
the point is that it's a shrine built for war dead during japan's civil war and others since then, not just soldiers from the ww2. put things in perspective. i never said having those 13 of them there are right, but it's only 13 of them versus how many tens of thousands other dead people resting there. you're condemning an entire shrine just because of 13 criminals.
Making difference between the good the bad and the innocents is the virtue of civilized human being, is it not? or are we in the world of beast, the fitter survive and the weaker dies, there is no good or bad.
Can you imagine we build a war memorial, to remember Lord Mounbatten, Lt Gen Percival, Lim Bo Seng, together with Lt Gen Yamahita and his 25th Army, ALL WAR DEAD??
See things in context, but don't miss the salient point! -
Originally posted by sgdiehard:
[b]
Yasukuni shrine were original built for war casualties, then they put in the war heros, and then they put in the war criminals. I don't know japanese, but in english language, are there no difference between war casualties, war heros and war criminals or just War Dead?? Are there no difference between the innocent, the good and the bad guys?? or are they putting the bad guys among the good guys and make them all good guys??
the shrine was built for japanese. to them it makes no difference. all the soldiers fought for japan. even in china, usa or any other countries i dont think anyone will build a shrine and starts checking if someone is a war hero or criminal before burying them there. it is afterall a 'national cemetry'. every war dead deserves a national burial!!
Making difference between the good the bad and the innocents is the virtue of civilized human being, is it not? or are we in the world of beast, the fitter survive and the weaker dies, there is no good or bad.
Can you imagine we build a war memorial, to remember Lord Mounbatten, Lt Gen Percival, Lim Bo Seng, together with Lt Gen Yamahita and his 25th Army, ALL WAR DEAD??
See things in context, but don't miss the salient point!
why would we want to build a memorial to remember Lt Gen Yamashita? he is not our hero!! [/b] -
Please read second para in the same post.Originally posted by dragg:the shrine was built for japanese. to them it makes no difference. all the soldiers fought for japan. even in china, usa or any other countries i dont think anyone will build a shrine and starts checking if someone is a war hero or criminal before burying them there. it is afterall a 'national cemetry'. every war dead deserves a national burial!!
Lt Gen Yamshita came here to fight against the british to liberate singapoean from their colonial master, so said the japanese new textbook.Originally posted by dragg:why would we want to build a memorial to remember Lt Gen Yama&!$^a? he is not our hero!! -
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/04/06/200504060007.asp
The Korea Herald
Japanese textbooks claim Dokdo as Japan's land
Korea protests distortions of history
By Lee Joo-hee
Boldly ignoring warnings from both Korea and China, the finalized new Japanese textbooks not only still carry numerous distortions of history but also add new claims to Korea's Dokdo islands, leaving Korea no other choice but to proceed with firm countermeasures against Japan's incessant attempt to beautify its wartime atrocities, the government said yesterday.
"The Korean government expresses grave concern over some of the textbooks that claim Dokdo's sovereignty. It is a rationalization of Japan's colonial invasion in the past and a denial of Korea's liberation," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Japanese Education Ministry announced that it approved textbooks from eight publications after revising controversial content pinpointed by neighboring countries including South Korea, North Korea and China. The textbooks on history, society and geography are to be used at junior high schools beginning next year.
The South Korean government, which spent the last several days reviewing the approved textbooks, deemed some of the controversial content was changed, but that the majority is still based on Japan's "self-centered" views of history.
"The Korean government again demands Japan's efforts to fundamentally change the textbooks that still rationalize the past wrongdoings and beautify its imperialist past," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said in the statement.
The ministry said it will deal separately with the remaining distortions in the textbooks and the revived claims to Dokdo islands, which are considered a challenge to Korea's sovereignty.
While the ministry said that it will deal separately with the textbook distortions and the revived claims to Dokdo, the most serious addition to the textbooks this year is three of the eight textbooks' newfound descriptions that Korea-controlled Dokdo islands actually belong to Japan both "historically and based on international law," the South Korean government said.
Two of the three textbooks, each published by largely circulated Tokyo Publishing Co. and Osaka Publishing Co. have each added a new page containing a large picture of the Dokdo islets and a description that the islands are in a dispute over sovereignty with Korea.
The controversial textbook on society compiled by Fuso Publishing Co. and authored by radical rightists also did not extract Dokdo's description as Japan's territory in the new version.
The disclosure is sure to tip the Korean public's outrage over Japan's repeated claims on the easternmost islets that are widely perceived by Koreans as Japan's attempt to violate Korea's sovereignty as it was done in 1905.
Japan laid claims to the islets at the end of the Russo-Japanese War arguing that the islands were part of its step to invade the Korean Peninsula. Japan occupied Korea in 1910 until 1945.
The history textbook compiled by Fusosha, which was criticized the most by Korea and China in 2001 for the excessive history distortion, made some changes but still carries significant amount of misinterpretations and omissions, the South Korean government said. Examples include a chapter that says Japan has helped Korea's modernization through colonization.
The textbook also still fails to mention thousands of Korean women who were forced to provide sexual service to Japanese soldiers.
The South Korean government had requested revisions on a total of 35 parts in the new textbooks, of which four of them have been revised, 26 of them remain the same and seven new "distorted" parts were added.
The Foreign Ministry said it will invite foreign ambassadors to Korea to inform them of Japan's attempt to distort history today while Korean Ambassador to Japan will visit the Japanese Foreign Ministry in a show of protest.
On a long term basis, the government will launch the second term of the Korea-Japan history research committee and concentrate on discouraging Japanese schools from choosing the textbook in question.
It will also use various international organizations to inform of Japan's attempts and activate parliamentary and municipal collaboration between Korea and Japan.
The government, however, will not make any specific request for revision, leaving the job up to civic and scholastic groups.
Upon the Japanese government's final approval of the books, the Japanese publishers will send samples of their government-approved textbooks to the education boards representing each province, prefecture and others within 30 days.
A total of 590 regions will select their preferred textbooks by August this year for them to be used next year among secondary school students.
During the selection, teachers and parents' group are said to play a large part by submitting their own reviews on the textbooks.
Four years ago, only 0.039 percent of the regions selected the controversial history textbook compiled by Fusosha Publishing Co., named after its radical revisionists, due to an active protest by many of the Japanese parents and teachers against history distortion.
The amicable start of this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of Korea-Japan bilateral ties quickly deteriorated with Japan's regenerated claims on the small group of easternmost islands of Korea.
Calling the islets by the Japanese name "Takeshima," Japan assert that Korea-controlled Dokdo islands actually belong to Japan, because it laid claims on it in 1905, a year Japan won the Russo-Japanese War that eventually led to its invasion of Korea.
Rightist government officials and politicians supported the claim by recently making comments on how Dokdo legally belong to Japan and that schools must teach students the islets belong the Japan.
The South Korean government, which had been refraining from provoking or instilling international dispute over the islands, finally spoke up and warned Korea was ready for a diplomatic war should Japan continue to make ungrounded argument.
It also fortified Korea's watch on Dokdo, effectively highlighting Korea's sovereignty of the rocky islets after years of keeping the islands away from spotlight for diplomatic concerns.
The South Korean government, however, welcomed a number of revisions made in consideration of Korea's request four years ago and said future cooperation from many of the Japanese public and scholars against history distortion will be crucial.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon has left for Islamabad, Pakistan, yesterday to attend the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, in which he will successively meet with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts today and tomorrow.
Both discussions are likely to pivot around the impending history and diplomatic war that involve all three countries.
High on agenda for the Korea-Chinese talks will be the resumption of the six-party talks and possible collaboration in countering Japan's history distortion.
Ban is likely to consume most of the time on Korea-Japan talks to express Korea's strong opposition towards Japan's exaggerated claim on Dokdo.
Also on spotlight is Japan's bid to seize a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council in line with the international powerhouse's reform.
Korea has already made clear it wants to expand the number of non-permanent seats, meaning it cannot support Japan's bid as it counters the preference of reform method.
But with public calls escalating against Japan's entrance to the Security Council in line with Japan's Dokdo claim, Korea's open opposition to Japan's bid is likely to coincidently gain emphasis in the coming months.
([email protected])
2005.04.06 -
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200503/200503040030.html
Japan Twice Admitted Korean Sovereignty Over Dokdo
Compiled by Japanese historian Yoshira Tougo, the book was first printed in 1900, and its introduction claims that Japanese Cabinet members at the time sent a letter of praise to its publishers. Park's edition is a 1986 reprint.
Japan claimed sovereignty over the Dokdo Islets in the 1620s and 1880s only to admit on both occasions that the rocks were Korean, a century-old Japanese geography book reveals. After the sovereignty issue flared up again, historian Park Byeong-shik, who specializes in the history of Koran-Japanese exchanges, on Friday drew attention to the eight-volume "Dai-nihon-chimei-jisho (Geographic Dictionary of Japan)" that devotes a special section to the topic.
The dictionary introduces Dokdo in a separate subsection in volume 3, where it says sovereignty disputes over the islets in the East Sea arose twice.
The dictionary says a person by the name of Muragawa Masagatsu went to the Dokdo Islets in 1621 and after capturing two Koreans petitioned the Japanese shogun to allow travel between the Japanese mainland and the islets. The shogun, however, banned travel between Yonago (currently Tottori Prefecture) and the islets in 1623. It records that the Edo shoganate banned Japanese from traveling to the Dokdo Islets in 1699.
The book says the two nations once again squabbled over the uninhabited islets in the 1880s. The Korean king at the time is recorded to have stood up saying, "It is only too clear that those islets are part of Korea, considering documents and the distance between them and Korea. For Japan to claim sovereignty over them is clearly a misunderstanding." Japan later admitted he was right. -
if you believe them...Originally posted by sgdiehard:Lt Gen Yamshita came here to fight against the british to liberate singapoean from their colonial master, so said the japanese new textbook. -
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/48387.asp
The writer, a business consultant and strategist, is the council secretary of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
China-S Korea alliance in the making?
Region's stability in flux as the two nations find common cause against Japan
Rowdy and violent protests in China over three successive weekends as well as the daily protests in Seoul, confirm the nationalistic flare-ups in China and South Korea against Japan.
.
The two are protesting over three fundamental issues: History (the "textbook row": Japan is accused of "white-washing" its World War II and "occupational" history); disputed islets (Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands between China and Japan, and Dokdo/Takeshima between Japan and South Korea); and Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, opposed strongly by Beijing, Seoul and Pyongyang.
.
Anti-Japanese sentiments are riding high in China and South Korea, tinged with a rising tide of nationalistic fervour, concomitant with economic growth and an increasing feeling in the middle class to "right the wrongs and humiliation" of the recent past.
.
Further, this "commonality of cause" is linking China and South Korea emotionally against Japan and, thanks to the increasing strategic dispute between China and Japan, the latter is invariably being pushed into consolidating its own strategic alliance with the United States. This shift could revise dramatically the existing alliance pattern in North-east Asia.
.
Curiously, we may be irreversibly "going back in history", whereby the Korean kingdom was the premier tributary state of China for almost 400 years.
.
Korea, under the Chosun dynasty, paid tribute to the Chinese emperor once a year, more frequently than any other tributary state. Ironically, it was Japan that "forced" Korea out of this Chinese tributary system in 1895. China "ceded" Korea and Taiwan and, "to rub salt into the wounds" of Chinese and Koreans, Japan annexed the Korean peninsula in 1910 and occupied it "harshly" (according to Korea) until the end of WW II.
.
These old "occupational" memories in South Korea against Japan are re-surfacing violently, as compared to the "milder" and more benevolent Korean "tributary memories" of China. This aspect of history is returning to haunt Japan, but favours China in the Korean psyche and in the more recent "historical commonality" between South Koreans and Chinese vis-Ã -vis Tokyo.
.
These disputes come in the wake of Seoul's softening approach to Pyongyang, just as Tokyo stiffens its own position against North Korea's non-satisfactory accounting of Japanese "abductees" and its missile threat, which could further complicate six-party talks in Beijing.
.
As Seoul moves progressively away from Washington and towards a more "neutral" position (vis-Ã -vis a looming US-China tussle), the latest flare-ups do not augur well for regional stability, especially when Tokyo and Seoul are still US allies.
.
In fact, the signing of the Feb 19 US-Japan joint security agreement was opposed publicly by Beijing, perhaps with Seoul's tactical understanding too.
.
The consequence of these latest feuds may drive China and South Korea closer together, just as Seoul's relations with the US (and hence, Tokyo) progressively distance. As Seoul shifts closer to Beijing (as well as in the six-party talks organised by China), a fundamental shift in North-east Asia's alliances could be in the making.
.
Moreover, North and South Korean leaders met during the Bandung jubilee commemoration celebrations last month reportedly to cooperate in dealing with Japan over the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands, which both claim as Korean territory.
.
The recent boosting of Seoul's defence ties with Beijing is an ominous indication of this shift, just as six-party talks may now crystallise around Seoul's progressive rapprochement with Beijing versus the "Washington-Tokyo axis". Seoul also announced recently it had scrapped Op-Plan 5029, a classified special operations plan supposed to be developed jointly by the US and South Korean militaries, whereby the latter nation's forces would be put under US command to invade the North, if and should the Pyongyang regime collapse.
.
By then, the present North-east Asian alliance pattern would be altered irreversibly, with two camps entrenched clearly under the aegis of a growing US-China rivalry and even, a new "cold war" between Washington and Beijing in the making.
. -
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/02/content_439136.htm
Japan must honour its word on TW: Comment
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-02 10:35
In the five-point proposal on the development of Sino-Japanese ties, made by President Hu Jintao, China expressed the hope that Japan would translate into concrete actions its commitments to the one-China policy and pledge of not supporting "Taiwan Independence."
Regrettably, Japan has not fully carried out its promises on the Taiwan question. In 2003, despite strong objection from China, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori visited Taiwan. At the end of last year, regardless of protests from China, Japan issued a visa to Lee Teng-hui, a radical representative of "Taiwan independence" forces, allowing him to visit the country as a " tourist."
At a recent summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Jakarta, Hu put forward the proposal, whose third point stresses that the Taiwan question must be correctly handled as it is a prerequisite for pushing forward the Sino- Japanese ties.
The Taiwan issue is a question of China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and reunification, which concerns the core interests of China and the feelings of the Chinese people. Opposing "Taiwan independence" and working for China's reunification are the common aspiration of all the Chinese people including those on the Taiwan island.
It is widely recognized by the international community that there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair.
Proper handling of the Taiwan question is conducive to stability across the Taiwan Strait and peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan is situated.
In fact, Japan has made a number of commitments on the Taiwan question, which have made it possible for the two countries to normalize bilateral relations and achieve long-stride progress.
In the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement issued in 1972, Japan said it fully understands the three principles for the resumption of diplomatic ties, namely the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legitimate government representing China, Taiwan is an inalienable part of the PRC and the treaties signed between Japan and the Kuomintang government are illegal and should be revoked.
In the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration signed in 1998, Japan again pledged to observe the one-China principle and maintain only non-official contacts with Taiwan.
In addition, the Japanese government has repeatedly made verbal commitments concerning the Taiwan question. In 2001, the then Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said the country would stick to the one-China policy, not get involved in activities related to "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," and not support "Taiwan independence."
In November 2004, Koizumi reiterated that Japan pursues the one- China policy and does not back "Taiwan independence."
In February 2005, the United States and Japan released a statement, listing the Taiwan question as a common strategic issue in the Asia-Pacific region.
These actions on the part of the Japanese government have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and exerted a negative effect on the development of the ties between the two countries.
The Taiwan question is a major and sensitive issue in the Sino- Japanese relations. Honoring the commitments it has made is the key to Japan's proper handling of the issue.
Koizumi noted recently that the development of the friendly Sino-Japanese ties is of great importance to the development of both countries in the long run although differences and difficulties have emerged in the relations.
China hopes that Japan could take concrete actions and deliver its promise of adhering to the one-China policy and not supporting "Taiwan independence." Only by so doing, can the difficult situation of the Sino-Japanese relations be reversed and the bilateral ties develop healthily and steadily. -
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/02/news/union-4997600.php
EU hopes to soften Japan fears over China
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005
LUXEMBOURG The European Union on Monday sought to ease Japanese concerns about a possible end to its arms embargo on China after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi warned that such a step could jeopardize stability in East Asia.
After talks with Koizumi, the Luxembourg prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country now holds the EU presidency, said the 25-nation bloc would always keep in mind the concerns of Japan and the United States, which both strongly oppose the lifting of the ban.
Japan fears Germany and France in particular will begin shipping sophisticated weapons to China's military forces.
Koizumi, while again voicing his opposition to the embargo ending, said that "Japan's concern was very well understood."
The EU faces a June deadline for a decision to lift the ban that was imposed after the Chinese military crushed student protests around Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Last month, the 25 EU nations reached no consensus on the issue with Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and others saying they want Beijing to improve human rights and resolve peacefully its conflict with Taiwan.
An end to the ban would be accompanied by an EU code of conduct for arms sales.
However, internal discussions on how strict that code should be - and how legally binding - remain unresolved.
Juncker said that the intention of the European Union, if it does reach agreement on lifting the ban, "is not to simply resume exports of arms to China in such a way as to endanger the security" in East Asia.
"Or to go against the concerns about security regularly raised by our partners," he added.
Juncker and Koizumi expressed a desire to step up EU-Japan geopolitical consultations and highlighted that two-way trade amounted to €150 billion last year. Together, the EU and Japan account for 40 percent of global economic output.
There was no breakthrough in a standoff over where to build an experimental international nuclear fusion reactor.
The two sides have been at pains to craft a compromise over competing Japanese and French bids to host the $13 billion International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
The plant is to be jointly funded by the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the EU.
It is hoped that it will show that nuclear fusion is a vast and safe source of energy that can wean the world off pollution-producing fossil fuels.
Backed by the United States and South Korea, Tokyo wants it at Rokkasho in northern Japan.
Russia, China and France's EU partners want it at Cadarache in southern France. -
do you?Originally posted by dragg:if you believe them... -
why ask something when i have already answered?Originally posted by sgdiehard:do you? -
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/25/content_2876906.htm
German expert: Japan needs to launch debate on history
www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-25 21:39:09
BERLIN, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A prominent German expert on foreign relations has said that Japan needs to launch a major debate on its wartime history as Germany has done, in order to reflect on the history of aggression and win trust and confidence from nations victimized during wartime.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Eberhard Sandschneider, Director of the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said that there should be an open and self-critical debate, first of all within Japan and secondly also with South Korea and China.
On the question of whether Japan will agree to come and sit together with its neighbors to discuss the textbook controversy, Sand Schneider said: "It's difficult. I will be skeptical for the time being. It will be really an enormous step for Japan. The Japanese try not to mention it, not talk about it. Forgetting is one strategy, but sooner or later, the issue will be back."
Never mentioning it was the Japanese strategy. It is a possible strategy, but the debate in China and South Korea now demonstrates again that sooner or later it will come back. Forgetting is not a strategy of solving a problem, but just to postpone it. Now a big change is going on in East Asia, no wonder that the debate comes back, Sand Schneider explained.
When asked whether there is a big difference between Japan and Germany to deal with the dark side of their history, Sand Schneider pointed out that Germany deals with the issue of wartime history differently.
"In order to find any kind of compromise with China, it will be necessary that the Japanese authorities understand the first step is always the domestic one -- domestically having an open debate on the dark side of its history. That's the pre-condition. And if you have done that, then you can approach China and say -- Listen: we know what we did, and now let's sit together and talk about how we can deal with that," he said.
The German expert criticized that Japan, however, was trying to deal with its own problematic past in a stage of Japanese imperialism in Eastern Asia, by not going into the details, not a public debate.
"This was reflected also in schoolbooks. You never solve a problem just by not mentioning it. Our experience is: get together, talk to each other and try to find a common solution. Schoolbooks can be a point in teaching next generations what to know and think about their own past," he said.
Earlier this month, Japan's education ministry approved revised history textbooks, which have been criticized by some Asian countries for distorting history and whitewashing Japan's colonial rules and wartime atrocities. The textbook issue triggered widespread protests in Asian countries including China and South Korea.
"We had a very difficult process in 1960s. The young students started to accuse the generation of their parents, asking really sensitive questions: What did you do? Were you in favor of Nazis or not? Were you a member of the Party? How could you know about concentration camps?" he said.
"You may remember, the then West German Chancellor Willy Brandt kneeling in Poland," Sand Schneider said, referring to Brandt's courageous decision to kneel at the site of 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on December 7, 1970, in a profound act of apology and repentance.
"It's a symbolic act of asking for forgiveness. So, we have all these elements in Europe. But of course visiting the Yasakuni Shrine in Tokyo is not an element for asking for forgiveness." He was referring to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's four visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo since he took office in 2001, which honors 14 Class-A World War II criminals along with Japan's war dead since the mid-19th century.
Sand Schneider noted that China was attacked in the 20th century, and the aggression came from Japan.
"If you want to solve historic problems with your neighbors, you need a debate. Quite frankly, I believe that if we have not had the debate, German reunification would have been much more difficult if possible at all. Our Polish partners understood that we really meant it when we were apologizing to them, and even Russia understood it. So as long as you want to have a genuine neighborly relationship with your neighboring country, you need the process," he emphasized.
On the question of what Germany gains from its right way in dealing with the dark side of its history besides an easier German unification, Sand Schneider explained that by dealing with controversial issues of history in a right way, Germany gains its international reputation as a democratic country and has become a truly democratic country acceptable to be integrated into the group of democracies and the whole integration process in Europe.
By building a democracy, Germany convinces its neighbors "we understand what we did and we honestly do what we have to do to prevent it from happening again," he said.
Asked to comment on the role of the United States in the current debate in Asia, and on whether Washington is sympathetic with Japan, Sand Schneider expressed his points of view in terms of the economic rise of China and security policies of the United States and its allies.
"One is the economic rise of China. Japan is playing an important role as a foreign investor, but competition is growing as well. The second aspect is the security policies. The Europeans do not feel threatened by China's rise. The Japanese do. This is where the United States coming in," Sand Schneider noted.
Generally speaking, there is the American fear that China might be a next major challenge for the American hegemony. Europeans have a different point of view. We do not have security interests, he said.
When asked whether China's rise is a threat to others, Sand Schneider pointed out that there is a lesson from history -- China has never been militarily aggressive, and that with India and with Russia, China has negotiation as the basis for solving even problems of border disputes.
"So, in terms of a military threat, China is not a country threatening to attack them or us. The Europeans never regard Chinas a threat. But the Americans, some Americans do. In the America, you still have the debate, China is a partner, engaging, China is a threat, containing," Sand Schneider, explaining that containment never works.
Commenting on China's role in World War II, Sand Schneider explained that the Second World War began when Japan attacked China in July 1937, which came before Germany attacked Poland in September 1939. He called both attacks as the starts of two regional wars.
"After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, the two inflicted into a world war," he said.
"The Chinese forces are very important in bending down Japanese forces. Without them being forced to stay down in China, it would certainly have been much more difficult for the United States to move west over the pacific into the war. You probably know how much sufferings people have had in China," Sand Schneider concluded. Enditem