Two cars working in tandem forced an automobile carrying the Japanese ambassador to China to a halt in Beijing on August 27. A man, apparently Chinese, slipped out of one of the vehicles, ripped off the Japanese flag from the envoy’s vehicle, and fled. The Chinese microblogging site Weibo since has repeatedly carried entries lauding the attacker as “a people’s hero” together with postings asserting China’s sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. There has also been an increasing number of postings claiming that “the Ryukyus (Okinawa) are Chinese territory,” further proof of the anti-Japanese radical nationalism which quickly spread across the country. It is as though the dissidents were claiming that “Anti-Japanism is Not a Crime,” playing off of their favorite slogan: “Patriotism Is Not a Crime.”

　　　There was an incident in August 2004, when Japan defeated China in the finals of the Asia Cup soccer tournament to claim the championship for the second straight year, in which angry Chinese fans attacked a car with two Japanese embassy ministers inside. Although the rear window shield was shattered, the diplomats were unscathed. The August incident, however, was the first time that the ambassador himself was attacked since 1972, when Japan and China normalized postwar diplomatic relations.

　　　Meanwhile in South Korea, as if to counter Japan’s decision to file a suit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the ownership of the Takeshima Islets, the government has reportedly decided to propose creation of a conciliation committee to resolve the “comfort women” issue. In a related and surprising development, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is said to have adopted a policy of collaborating with an anti-Japanese organization aimed at supporting former “comfort women.” The body is called the “Korean Council to Support the Victims of the Women’s Volunteer Corps” (hereafter the “Korean Council”).

　　　Anti-Japanese forces in South Korea and China have formidable power to influence their governments. There really, however, is no disputing these facts: the Senkakus rightfully belong to Japan; Japan was arbitrarily and forcibly deprived by the administration of former South Korean President Syng-man Rhee of the Takeshima Islets; and the “comfort women” actually were never moved forcibly to Japanese military brothels. However, the truth has sadly been twisted, with these fabrications coming to the fore whenever the slightest friction develops between Tokyo and Seoul, or Tokyo and Beijing. At least half the blame for this rests with Japan, as it has continuously refused to speak out since the end of the war on this – or other – issues. It was in 2007 that this lack of courage in making a firm stand led to these issues spreading beyond our relations with South Korea and China, creating a serious problem with the US – Japan’s most important ally.

　　　Mike Honda, a member of the US House of Representatives from California, proposed a House resolution in January of 2007 demanding a formal apology from Japan for the exploitation of the “comfort women” as sex slaves; he claimed the Japanese armed forces forcibly moved some 200,000 women to military brothels, killing nearly all of them at the end of the war, but that Japan never once apologized for these acts, exactly echoing the claims by North Korea, as well as the “Korean Council.”

Will Japan Drift into Tier-Two Status?

　　　At the time, Japanese Ambassador to Washington, Ryozo Kato, attempted to defend Japan by stating: “Congressman Honda’s assertions are mistaken. As a matter of fact, Japan has already profusely apologized for the unfortunate past.” However, Kato failed to make any mention of the critically important fact that actually none of the “comfort women” was forcibly moved to military brothels. Kato now serves as Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but I seriously wonder if someone who could not develop a pertinent argument in order to safeguard Japan’s national interests can really serve in a post designed to preserve and protect sportsmanship. Ever since the incident triggered by Honda, the Foreign Ministry has continued to use the same makeshift explanations when it comes to discussion of the “comfort women.”

　　　Matters such as these have seriously disrupted U.S.-Japan relations. This is illustrated in the recently published bi-partisan report The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia. The report was written by some of America’s leading Japan hands under the leadership of former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Professor Joseph Nye, who served in the Clinton administration as US Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs.

　　　The text of the report, 20 pages in all, shows how much the creation of a healthy and strong alliance between the US and Japan is longed for by this group of Japan specialists who are positioned to significantly influence the implementation of US overseas strategy. I have a great deal of respect for these policy proposals, which I believe will undoubtedly contribute to development of sounder and more stable US-Japan relations. While hinting that Japan may perhaps have lost much confidence in itself, the report articulates that it is “only a question of her disposition” as to whether Japan can “remain a tier-one nation or drift into tier-two status.”

　　　While fully understanding the seriousness of the aftereffects of last year’s earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster, the report notes Japan cannot afford to fall behind in the development of nuclear power. This reflects the authors’ convictions that it is Japan, of all nations, who can truly make a significant contribution towards heightened levels of safety at a time when nations including China, Russia, South Korea, and France are taking fresh steps towards promotion of nuclear power generation.

　　　As for energy security, which to resource deprived Japan is as a matter of life or death, the report also argues that the US and Japan should not be mere military allies but “natural resource” allies.

　　　The report notes that the US is in the midst of a stunning shale gas revolution. Large new shale gas reserves have been discovered in the lower 48 states of the US, their extraction having been made possible through technological innovation. The report further quotes the International Energy Agency (IEA) as noting that the planned expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014 “will enable 80 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet to use the canal, dramatically lowering shipping costs and making LNG exports from the US Gulf Coast dramatically more competitive in Asia.”

　　　An analysis by the IEA predicts the US will bring about a phenomenal change in the world’s energy supply and demand. Meanwhile, Armitage and his colleagues maintain that Japan, the world’s largest LNG importing nation (much of which is bought at high prices from Russia), should become a beneficiary of the abundant and inexpensive LNG the US produces. In line with this, the report proposes the US government grant Japanese corporations special permission to import US-produced LNG.

　　　The US government has generally limited LNG exports to nations that have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US. The idea behind this is that uncontrolled exports raise gas prices at home and deprive US corporations of their competitive edge. During a meeting with President Obama last April, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda asked for the US government’s cooperation in making American-made NLG available to Japan, even though it is not an FTA signatory. Armitage and his group support this request from the Japanese government, advocating prompt action by the US department of Energy to allow US corporations to sell LNG to Japan, making it a full-fledged resource (including energy) ally of the US.

A Thick Wall of Misunderstanding between Two Vital Pacific Allies over Historical Issues

　　　Meanwhile, the report also discusses the “reemergence” of China as a leading power in the region. With China defining Xinjian Uyghur, Tibet, and Taiwan as among its vital interests – while also being increasingly active in the South and East Asian Seas – it emphasizes the necessity for strong relations between Japan, the US, and South Korea in order to safeguard the security and prosperity of the region. However, there is also a worrying reference to Japan in the report.

　　　While noting that it is “not the place of the US government to render judgment on sensitive historical issues,” the report calls for the US to exert full diplomatic efforts to diffuse tensions between Tokyo and Seoul, urging Japan to “confront the historical issues that continue to complicate relations with South Korea.”

　　　In other words, the report urges Japan to look squarely into matters relating to historical issues – specifically to the controversy surrounding the “comfort women.” Many US intellectuals tend to be tough on the Japanese when it comes to historical issues involving Korea and China. As an author/journalist who has devoted many years of her professional life to conscientious and meticulous research of historical facts involving Japan’s war-time past, I humbly submit that the positions taken by these Americans are not necessarily based on logic or the facts. This is indeed a sobering reality for Japan.

　　　The American intelligentsia tend to view such matters as the “Nanking Massacre” and “comfort women” within the framework of claims made by China or Korea – certainly not by Japan. It cannot be ruled out that such historical perceptions, so deeply imbedded even in the minds of Japan specialists, might be quite capable of enticing the US to bypass Japan to join hands with the Chinese or the Koreans.

　　　That, in my opinion, is why we must invest all necessary resources – human, financial, and intellectual – in a concerted effort to break through this stubborn wall of misunderstanding which continues to block our way forward.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 524 in the August 30, 2012 Issue of The Weekly Shincho)