Objections from the US are seen to be the major reason for the hesitation on the part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit Yasukuni Shrine. More than irrational criticism from China or South Korea, the Japanese are concerned about American attitudes toward Japan.

　　　Among Abe’s special aides and advisors, the view is steadily growing that the prime minister should refrain from a visit—at least for the time being—because the US strongly desires that Japan not create any friction with China or South Korea. This view takes the position that there is stronger sympathy in the US for Chinese and South Korean objections to the visit than an understanding of the desire on the part of Abe to perform the expected duties of any country’s leader in publicly praying for his nation’s war-dead.

　　　Damaging Japan’s public image is now one of the strategic objectives of both China and South Korea, with the fabrication of history being one of the chief means to that end. Both countries have engaged in fiercely anti-Japanese public relations campaigns in the US, Japan’s only ally. We should never underestimate the negative effect these campaigns have had on America’s perceptions of Japan. One consequence has been the more critical stance taken by the Obama administration against Japan as concerns these wartime controversies.

　　　Particularly at such a time as this, asserts prominent writer Ben-Ami Shillony, the Japanese should look to the people of Israel, in other words the Jews.

　　　Shillony is a leading Israeli scholar on the Emperor and the Imperial Family. Born in Poland to Jewish parents, he is Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, currently serving as a member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities. A prolific author, his works include Tenno Heika no Keizai-gaku [The Emperor’s Economics] (Kobun-sha, Tokyo; 1982) and Haha naru Tenno [The Emperor as the Mother of Japan] (Kodansha, Tokyo; 2003).The latter was published ahead of its English edition, Enigma of the Emperors: Sacred Subservience in Japanese History (Global Oriental; 2005).

　　　At this time, I wish to take up in particular his latest work—Nihon no Tsuyosa no Himitsu [The Secret of Japan’s Strength] (Nisshin Hodo, Tokyo, 2013, translated by Isaku Aoki and Tadashi Ueno). Shillony’s comparisons of the Japanese and the Jews provide great food for thought. Although limited in term of land mass, both countries have historically achieved outstanding success, startling the world and commanding its attention quite frequently. Boasting long histories and rich traditions, Shillony points out, the two nations have both had much experience overcoming man-made tragedies as well as natural disasters.

Exclusion of the Two Races

　　　On the other hand, there are significant differences as well. The Japanese are known for their exquisite aesthetic sense, while the Jews attach importance to their faith and religion, many Jews strictly adhering to the practices of Judaism. In contrast, religion and ideology play a less prominent role in the lives of most Japanese. It is notable that both Buddhism and Shintoism have very flexibly adapted to changes in society, undergoing subtle transformations over time. Shillony casts an admiring eye on Japanese society, noting that Japan has managed to create a society more closely knit than any other in the world, having been spared fierce religious confrontations and conflicts.

　　　In Shillony’s analysis, the tragedies for both nations are not only about their past, but about their future as well. For instance, the Japanese and the Jews have in the past been “too successful,” becoming “threatening” in the eyes of the Western nations.

　　　Noting that “the European world at the turn of the century was stunned by the rise of these two non-Christian races,” Shillony declares that it was “unthinkable that people who were neither Christian nor white would penetrate and succeed in areas long dominated by white Christians.” He further observes:

　　　As Westerners began to exclude these two races from their world, those proclaiming the existence of “Jewish peril” began talking about “Japanese peril” as well.

　　　The basis for the Russian suppression of the Jews was The Protocol of the Elders of Zion, a hoax purporting to describe a plot for global domination organized by Jewish leaders from around the world. White Russians, as well as Germans including Hitler, quoted extensively from The Protocol, while prominent figures such as automobile magnate Henry Ford, master inventor Thomas Edison, and Charles Lindberg—the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic—are said to have frequently quoted from this book in their attempts to slander the Jews. Shillony criticizes, coolly but scathingly, those who took advantage of The Protocol, pointing out that they were responsible for World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Great Depression touched off by the 1929 economic crisis.

　　　Meanwhile, the Tanaka Memorial—a document laying out a strategy to take over the world and allegedly presented to the Emperor by then Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka in 1927—was used as evidence of the “Japanese peril.” The Memorial purportedly constituted Japan’s strategy to first conquer China and then, utilizing the resources expected to be available in China, proceed to seize India, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

　　　Although these two documents were suspected of being hoaxes from the beginning, those who hated the Japanese and the Jews took full advantage of them, disregarding their inauthenticity.

　　　After the Greater East Asia War, the positions of the Japanese and the Jews changed drastically. Shillony points out that the two peoples learned sharply contrasting lessons from the war. The Japanese, attributing their defeat and the misery that befell them to over-dependence on military power, turned pacifist, adopting the “No More Hiroshima” slogan. Whereas the Jews, blaming a lack of military capabilities for their ordeal, raised the rally cry of “No More Auschwitz.”

　　　Shillony’s analysis is extremely easy to understand: that the Jews, who before the war had concentrated on economic development over a military build-up, established Israel after the war and built a strong military; while, on the other hand, the Japanese after the war poured almost all their energy into economic rehabilitation.

Twisted Image of the Japanese

　　　With the post-war strategies of both countries having now played out, however, new challenges await them in the 21st century.

　　　Among the issues facing the Japanese are these misunderstandings about the war that have taken on a life of their own in the international community. As China and South Korea continue to spread a distorted image of Japan and its people, what should Japan do to address this matter? Shillony’s work shows that one answer may lie in looking to Israel and the Jews.

　　　For instance, we would be wise to take note of the following anecdote Shillony introduces. When the Emperor Showa died at 87 in 1989, the Israelis had a heated debate over whether their president “should attend the funeral of Hitler’s former ally.” At the time, Shillony pointed out to Israeli leaders in no uncertain terms that Japan, although an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II, did no harm whatsoever to the Jews, extending instead a helping hand to a larger number of Jewish refugees who had fled to Japanese-occupied areas. He also noted that in 1952 Japan was the first Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. As a result, the president flew to Japan to attend the Imperial funeral.

　　　Japan not only opposed oppression of the Jews during World War II, but also put forward a proposal for racial equality at the Paris Peace Conference in1919, becoming the first nation to appeal to the international community for an outright abolition of racial discrimination. The people of Israel are well aware, based on their own actual experience, of a Japanese people very different from the twisted image propagated by the Chinese and the South Koreans. This being the case, it would seem that a deepening of relations with Israel and a mutual confirmation of our understanding on such issues would make it possible to project to the international community a more correct image of us Japanese. It is vital for us to seize every opportunity to revive the proud achievements of our fathers and forefathers.

　　　We need to be aware that promoting mutual understanding between us and the Israelis—who continue to have a strong voice internationally, particularly in the US—may indirectly help us find a breakthrough to this situation. Japan and Israel, both significant players in the international community, should be able to support each other in a growing number of ways.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 580 in the October 31, 2013 issue of The Weekly Shincho)