A group of Japanese citizens gathered peacefully in front of the official residence of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe one morning late last month, carrying a banner which read: “Thank you Prime Minister Abe for visiting Yasukuni Shrine.” The previous day, December 26th, Abe had made a visit to Yasukuni to pray for the nation’s war dead. China and South Korea reacted bitterly to the visit, while Washington expressed “disappointment.”

　　　Speaking to the press anxiously awaiting him outside to hear what made him decide to make the visit at this juncture, Abe said his purpose was to pledge to never again wage war, stressing he had absolutely no intension whatsoever to “hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people.” The prime minister emphatically referred to the “no war pledge” three times during his comments, carefully selecting his words each time in a determined effort to make himself clear on this point.

　　　The following morning, Abe himself failed to witness the scene of the “peaceful demonstration,” as he had left earlier in the day to inspect the progress of reconstruction work in one of the regions of Miyagi Prefecture devastated by the tsunami of March 2011. However, Abe’s special assistant Koichi Hagyuda, a lower house member of parliament, says he watched the scene with deep emotion.

　　　In any nation it is natural for leaders to offer the souls of the war dead heartfelt prayers of respect and gratitude for sacrificing their lives to protect the nation and its people. The demonstration in support of Abe reflected the depth of gratitude of people eager for their prime minister to visit Yasukuni after a seven-year period during which no prime minister had performed this most basic public functions.

　　　However, China continues to persistently try to exploit the Yasukuni visit politically. On December 26th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang denounced Abe immediately after the visit. In a nutshell, Qin asserted that, by visiting Yasukuni, Abe “openly challenges the historical justice and human conscience…to overturn the just trial of Japanese militarism by the international community.” Qin views Japan as a villain attempting to disrupt the order of the postwar international community.

　　　On December 28th, Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechin declared: “Abe must own up to the wrongdoing, correct the mistake, and take concrete measures to remove its egregious impact.”

　　　The next day, on December 29th, the liberal mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun ran a news analysis, explaining that the announcement by Yang, an official on a vice premier level who is China’s top man in charge of foreign affairs, reflects strong Chinese protests unseen even when former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi paid four visits to Yasukuni between 2001 and 2003. Here, in sum, is what Koichi Furuya, the daily’s general Chinese bureau chief in Beijing, had to report on comments from the Chinese side:

　　　“Chinese government officials tell us Japanese reporters, as if to remind us, that ‘the US and other members of the international community are critical of Japan (over Abe’s Yasukuni visit).’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin stated ‘China will be the ultimate winner,’ deliberately making a V sign in front of a TV camera. This may be a sign that those in charge of China’s foreign policy are beginning to feel growing confidence about the effects of their international campaign to portray the actions of the Abe administration as a ‘challenge to the post-war international order.’”

Unsuccessful Strategy to Encircle Japan

　　　The statement issued on January 30th by the US State Department that the US was “disappointed” at Abe’s Yasukuni visit could have given China some sense of “confidence.” Even so, Mr. Furuya’s description of the situation gives one the impression that he is looking forward to an increased Chinese offensive vis-à-vis Japan.

　　　On the same day, growing “more confident,” China launched a phone-call offensive aimed at key nations around the world. Foreign Minister Wang Yi first consulted with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, extracting from him a statement that “Russia holds a completely identical stance with China (on the Yasukuni issue) and (will urge Japan to) correct its erroneous historical view.” Wang also secured Lavrov’s commitment that Russia and China would  cooperate closely in a joint effort to have Japan rectify its view of history.

　　　Wang then spoke to the foreign ministers of Germany and Vietnam, followed up by calls on the 31st to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State John Kerry in an attempt to bring pressure on Japan.

　　　The most marked denunciation of Japan came from Russia. China announced the South Korean foreign minister also expressed a stern stance vis-à-vis Japan. In regard to this, while Foreign Minister Yun did in fact criticize Japan, the South Korean Foreign Ministry only stated that information on the Northeast Asian situation was exchanged during its telephone talks with China.

　　　As for the other countries, in the end it was announced that there had merely been an “exchange of opinions” on the “Japan problem” with Germany, Vietnam, and the US. The reaction on the part of Southeast Asian nations was generally cool. All told, it would be safe to say that the strategy of encircling Japan spearheaded by China did not prove effective.

　　　China, which still wants badly to make Yasukuni visits the pillar of an international solidarity denouncing Japan’s view on its war-time history, had Liu Xiaoming, its ambassador in London, contribute an op-ed in The Daily Telegraph on January 2nd. Entitled “China and Britain Won the War together,” the 900-word article starts with an invocation of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories, likening Yasukuni Shrine to “a kind of ‘horcrux,’ representing the darkest parts of the nation’s soul.”

　　　Below is the essence of Liu’s contentions:

　　　① Yasukuni Shrine, enshrining the souls of 14 Class A war criminals,
　　　　　is the spiritual symbol of Japan’s war of aggression;

　　　② Visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders cannot be an internal
　　　　　affair for Japan, or a personal matter for any Japanese official. At
　　　　　stake is the credibility of that country’s leaders in observing the
　　　　　principles of the UN charter and upholding peace. With his recent
　　　　　visit, Abe has raised the specter of the revival of militarism in
　　　　　Japan;

　　　③ In May 2013, Abe caused great offense in China and Korea when
　　　　　he sat in the cockpit of a military jet marked with the number 731.
　　　　　Abe has worked hard to portray China as a threat, raised regional
　　　　　tensions, and created a convenient excuse for the resurrection of
　　　　　Japanese militarism;

　　　④ The world should be very alert, as Abe wishes to amend the
　　　　　post-war pacifist constitution, imposed on Japan by the US;

　　　⑤ The international community should also be watchful of Japan’s
　　　　　refusal to reflect on its past and its readiness to walk down the
　　　　　same dangerous path as before; and,

　　　⑥ Japan poses a serious threat to global peace. China and Britain,
　　　　　which fought Japanese aggression as World War II allies, must
　　　　　not allow history to be repeated.

　　　In point of fact, Liu has the facts wrong in a number of spots. Instead of going into it, however, I will only introduce how another major London daily —The Guardian—viewed the situation in an editorial carried the same day entitled: “China and Japan: the Pot and the Kettle.”

Only Correct Facts Count

　　　“From the Manchurian incident in 1931 to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and then to the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 stretch a truly terrible series of battles, massacres, famines and other horrors. Both states feared the West and Russia. Both believed in what was expressed, on the Japanese side, by the phrase ‘rich country, strong army.’ Both, at different times, were to become obsessed with the idea that they had to have physical control over what they deemed to be their proper ‘space on the land,’ in the air, and at sea, if they were to survive.”

　　　The editorial then refers to China:

　　　“Yet, Chinese self-defense did not stop when the country’s core territory was secure, but went on, over the years since the Second World War to seek to resume control over every scrap of land to which the Chinese empire had ever laid claim. Absolutist notions of what national power should mean have, in other words, not gone away…China’s expressions of outrage (over Abe’s Yasukuni visit) have some justification, given the historical record, but they also show China at its most unrelenting. The Chinese speak of (Japanese) provocation, but do not mention that represented by their own military concentration (around the Senkaku Islands).They express anger about plans to increase Japan’s defense capacity and remove restrictions over the use of its military forces, but are not able to see the recent sea trials of their own new aircraft carrier in the same light…”

　　　While maintaining a detached view of the state of Japan-China relations, The Guardian clearly disapproves China’s post-war militaristic expansion. Initially, I was rather stunned to read the editorial because I had always thought of the daily as sternly critical of Japan, in particular showing little understanding of Japan’s position during the Greater East Asian War. It was therefore quite surprising to see this same daily refuse to accept at face value this idea of Japan as villain that China has frantically been disseminating globally. That said, I believe this shows only that The Guardian has come to grips with China’s heavy-handed ways, rather than having made progress in its own understanding of Japan.

　　　Following the sudden announcement last month of China’s unilateral establishment of an air self-defense identification zone (ASIZ) over the East China Sea, coverage in the US and European media of Chinese affairs has become conspicuously more penetrating and severe. No longer can the true character of China be kept concealed. This being the case, I believe we Japanese can do very well by continuing to get our side of the story out on Yasukuni and other critical issues.

　　　Against the backdrop of the fierce information warfare of the 21st century, I am freshly reminded of the importance of accurate facts about Japan as our mightiest, and most reliable, ally.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 590 in the January 16, 2014 issue of The Weekly Shincho)