Japan's youth Olympians told to keep low profile in China

"Japanese sports teams and the country’s national anthem are frequently booed in China, most notably at the 2004 Asian Cup football final between China and Japan in Beijing which ended in a full-scale riot after Japan’s controversial win."

The result of China's mandatory "Patriotic Education" in their schools. What a zoo,

Sadly given the moronic behaviour and riots what have occurred fairly recently its probably not bad advice, but seriously what a pathetic world we live in where some kids going to a sporting event have to be careful about what they wear.

To assume that Chinese people are violently racist and hold grudges against countries for things that happened over 70 years ago, long before they were alive is offensive. The 2004 Asian Cup Riot was 8 years ago, I'm sure China feels ashamed of what they did and moved on. In case you haven't noticed already I am being sarcastic BUT..

I'd like to give a chance to show off that they aren't violently racist and hold grudges against countries for things that happened over 70 years ago, by having a young looking volunteer stroll around town donning theJapanese team tracksuit with a hidden camera crew following him to see if such feared threats are real, and if there are, show the world China for the violent racists who hold grudges against countries for things that happened over 70 years ago that it is.

I'm from a country that was allied against Japan during World War II. The things that happened should never be forgotten. I hope that representatives of the Japanese team wearing full uniform place a wreath at the memorial in Nanjing.

You are missing the point, Mizuame. Not every Japanese person that comes through Nanjing has to stop at the memorial.

Mizuame, Do you honestly think there is one person on the Japanese team who was around in 1937? And these are young athletes, not representatives of any state government or agency. I'm from the country that lead the Allies against Japan in WWII and I think your idea is pretty silly,

When the Japanese fled from northeastern China in a chaotic retreat at the end of World War II, about 6,000 Japanese children were left behind in China after the war. The Chinese people raised the war orphans and many returned to Japan in the 1980's.

I hope that representatives of the Japanese team wearing full uniform place a wreath at the memorial in Nanjing.

How about if athletes from all the countries visit the memorial? or is it just a task for Japanese kids who weren't born back when the massacre happened? I thought those Confucian ideals about entire families/communities being punished for the crime of few members was detested in modern forward thinking society. Sure, it's forward thinking to learn from the past but we all know the Chinese right-wingers are merely use acknowledgement by Japan as justification for demanding concessions and any refusal or Japan's part to submit would be interpreted and projected as 'going back on their apology."

"Not every Japanese person that comes through Nanjing has to stop at the memorial."

A sports team representing its nation is not "every Japanese person." In Japan, foreign officials or national representatives are often encouraged to pay respects at the Hiroshima or Nagasaki memorials.

It seems like very sound advice given the current state of bilateral relations.

Likewise, I am sure that young Chinese athletes visiting Japan would be given similar advice.

japan also same as china.

If the game place is kinda some dangerous for athletes or has very bad air pollution for athletes health, Nanjing should not be qualified for any games. I just wonder why there?

Has China ever lain wreaths at Hiroshima or Nagasaki?

@JeffLee I doubt Japan has ever been so self-centered to require athletes to visit a memorial. China may decide to lead the world in this though.

The wreath at the Nanking memorial is a nice idea, and appropriate when a national team makes a visit to the site of a tragedy, but there is a problem in that there are mixed views of the history of the event. The post-war tribunal upheld the 300,000 figure, but many feel it was a sham. Irrespective of the numbers dead, there was imho at least enough rape to warrant a wreath every time a Japanese national representative is near for the next 30 years or so.

I'm from a country that was allied against Japan during World War II. The things that happened should never be forgotten.

It seems that Japanese sincerely do not forget that terrible war. That's why Japan has had no war for 69 years since the end of WW2.

@Alejandro S. Arashi

Has China ever lain wreaths at Hiroshima or Nagasaki?

It wasn't the Chinese who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

Actually European studies indicate that there were only 230,000 total population, and the number is more likely 30,000.

Just goes to show you the cultural differences between the mentality of a typical Chinese vs. Japanese.

Seems the point has been missed. They are children, what must they be thinking, why can't I wear my national colour, for what reason. I hope someone tells them the truth, that it isn't their fault, that it was and still is the political , corporate,and military systems run by adults, similar to their parents who are the cause of their quandary. How grown men can not sit down and talk about their problems and solutions, they only know the one way and thats threaten, create a fear and confusion, the waving of the big stick, bully boy tactics. I fear we, the voters, have given the political establishment to much power, that they think they are indestructible. Look around the world today,its not something I thought I would ever see in my lifetime, it looks like Armageddon is coming sooner than we think.

timtakAug. 12, 2014 - 08:51AM JST The wreath at the Nanking memorial is a nice idea, and appropriate when a national team makes a visit to the site of a >tragedy, but there is a problem in that there are mixed views of the history of the event. The post-war tribunal upheld >the 300,000 figure,

As far as I am aware The Republic of China attempted to prosecute the "Nanking massacre" at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (aka Tokyo Trials) but was dismissed for insufficient evidence. The casualty figure that was submitted to the court was 100,000. ROC then conducted the The Nanjing War Crimes Trials, where all the allied victors were not present as judges as in the Tokyo Trials, in which the number of 300,000 was used. For 70 years the debate has gone on concerning the number and I doubt you could use that as a number "upheld" by an impartial Court of Law.

You are missing the point, Mizuame. Not every Japanese person that comes through Nanjing has to stop at the memorial.

With all due respect, scipantheist, it's you who is missing the point. No one is asking for "every Japanese person" to stop at the memorial. And it's not about whether the team has members who were "around in 1937" or who's fathers were... It's about representatives of Japan - which the youth Olympic athletes certainly are, "official" or not - making a public recognition that a tragedy occurred here and a symbolic gesture towards peace an reconciliation (and one at an especially apt time).

How about if athletes from all the countries visit the memorial?

I'm sure the people of Nanjing would love this.

Look, if a team of American athletes came to Hiroshima for a similar event, would you advise they conspicuously avoid going anywhere near the Hiroshima memorial? Not going to the memorial would be a glaring omission that sends a message.

These sorts of public gestures would go a long way towards improving relations between Japan an its neighbors; yet when these issues come up - and they will continue to, no matter how hard you try to ignore them or how loudly you declare "that was 70 years ago!" - "defenders" of Japan always bring up the fact that most of the perpetrators are dead and gone, and that the sons should not have to inherit the sins of their fathers. This is entirely true (though "defenders" is in quotes because I don't think you are actually helping Japan at all, but rather hurting it); but what you don't seem to grasp is that is that this is not a question of personal guilt; the idea that you should feel personally "guilty" for things that happened 70 years ago that you were not involved in is ludicrous; the idea that you need feel "ashamed" of your country because horrible things happened in its name in the past is also, in my opinion, ludicrous. (I highly doubt many Americans here are feel personal guilt over slavery or, more topically, Hiroshima and Nagasaki; I also highly doubt that any of them would pretend that either occurred, or that they were sources of great suffering - even if, for example, they thought that the bombings could be militarily justified.)

There is something we all inherit, however, which is a duty towards history: it is a duty to remember, to recognize what happened, and to ensure that it does not happen again. By most accounts, Japan has failed rather miserably when it comes to the first of these, preferring to forget out of some twisted idea of preserving some sort of "national honor"; if you cannot bring yourself to recognize what happened 70 years ago, how can we believe that you can, with any sincerity, prevent its occurrence? To those who know Japan and the Japanese, I know that sounds absurd, but your perspective would be very different from China or Korea or any other nation that suffered at Japanese hands and is now watching as the SDF tools up and the government calls to rewrite or reinterpret article 9. They will not forget what was done, even if you would wish to - nor should they.

None of this is to say that the youth Olympians have a duty to lead the way on this, or that their laying a wreath at the memorial would solve all the problems between Japan and China. But what it would be is a nice gesture and a step in the right direction, and would help lend some sincerity to the idea the Japan indeed does remember what happened 70 years ago and has no wish to see it repeated.

would pretend that either occurred,

should read: "neither occurred," obviously.

I think diplomacy and good gestures are valuable--so even though the youth athletes were not born when the massacre occurred, a visit to the memorial would have been a healing gesture.

With that said, it seems very few people actually know their history. The Japanese forces committed atrocities in Nanjing and other places in Asia. Everyone seems to remember this history..

But after they left, the Communist party of China committed their own atrocities for decades against their own people. Every one seems to forget this history.

Historians are not certain of the exact number of millions of Chinese people who have died because of the Communist party, both intentionally, and by bad policies--but the number approaches 40 - 50 men, women and children dead, and many more grievously affected.

Around 1958, in the Great Leap Forward period of communist China, Mao Zedong started his Four Pests Campaign. In order to increase agricultural production, Mao exhorted and mobilized the vast Chinese population to eradicate the Four Pests in China: mosquitoes, flies, rats, and sparrows.

Yes, sparrows. Apparently, Mao considered sparrows pests since they ate seeds sown during crop planting.

So all over China--sparrows were slaughtered. This coincided with drought conditions across much of China. Since the sparrows were no longer around, locusts increased and multiplied and ate what little crops were left. In most of China, especially Hunan province people starved to death.

Around 20 million people starved--who did not need to die--but due to Communist policies of stopping family farming in favor of communal farming, of bad land management and advice--such as kill all the sparrows, a preventable humanitarian disaster occurred which slaughtered millions by cruel starvation.

This was only one of the many events from 1958 through to 1968 which killed between 40 and 50 million Chinese.

So when I hear Xi Jin Ping and others CP members lecture Japan upon its war crimes--I have to wonder at their obliviousness to their own party's humanitarian crimes which dwarf Japan's offenses to the Chinese people historically.

Torture still occurs in China to this very day--and it will tomorrow--never forget that.

No member of the Chinese communist party has the right to lecture anyone given their party's crimes--for which no one has apologized.

Just goes to show you the cultural differences between the mentality of a typical Chinese vs. Japanese.

False Equivalency, China did not invade Japan and commit atrocities that made German Nazis sick to their stomachs, from murder to rape to forced incest to throwing babies on bayonets, Japan was the aggressor.

I'm not defending the Chinese for attacking and being hostile to a bunch of apathetic Japanese kids who have nothing to do with the war, but its a false equivalency to say that Japan should be as forgiving as China, Japan has more to apologize for.

If Chinese people have problems with the Japanese Government and right wing nationalists, that's fine, but its totally childish of them to place their blame on kids who have no relation to the war, but what do you expect from a 2nd world country? its also wrong to postulate your morality with a country thats still very poor and people who aren't as rich as a typical 1st world nation

“When they are outside, we want them to be aware that it might not be totally safe,” Fujiwara told Kyodo news agency. “In the athletes’ village, we want them to wear the official Japan tracksuit, but in the city normal clothes are fine.”

I can understand why Fujiwara told the athletes not to wear their uniforms in public, but I wonder why in the world he felt the need to report that to the media.

I would guess it was an off-the-cuff remark on his part, still I wish he been a bit more discreet and diplomatic by not even mentioning it in the first place. This obviously is not a major issue as far as Japan-China diplomatic relations go, but still...

Normally I don't get emotional when I read some anti-China news counts, realizing that this is a Japanese website anyway. This one is special. It is based on imagined scenarios and speculation. Between seemingly calm paragraphs are descriptions full of hatred and prejudice.

If Japan truly worry about the safety of your athlete, why are you still going? I am sure the games will still go on without much distractions? Would you please do China a favor? Cancel the trip, would you please ?

Likewise, I am sure that young Chinese athletes visiting Japan would be given similar advice.

I sincerely doubt that. Here in Japan I see dozens and dozens of tourists from PRC every day. They are obvious by their terrible manners and loud voices. Being polite, the Japanese confine their reactions to rolled eyeballs.

With all due respect, scipantheist, it's you who is missing the point.

Nope, still you Triumvere. The fact we are even discussing a Nanjing memorial on an article that has nothing to do with it is because some people think they can compel every single Japanese visitor or maybe every single famous Japanese visitor to go do something. The very idea that you people think this is feasible logistically is laughable. The fact remains that Japanese of any age should be free to come to Nanjing, wear their national colors, not visit your memorial and go home. This includes athletes, good-will ambassadors, politicians, fake sumo-wrestlers, anybody.

If Chinese people have problems with the Japanese Government and right wing nationalists, that's fine, but its totally childish of them to place their blame on kids who have no relation to the war, but what do you expect from a 2nd world country? its also wrong to postulate your morality with a country thats still very poor and people who aren't as rich as a typical 1st world nation

Same could be said about Japan. An upcoming film by Angelina Jolie called "Unbroken" about a former US Olympic runner who was shot down in the Pacific in WWII and spent years in a Japanese POW camp, has already caused somewhat of a stir since it shows the brutality that he endured in the POW camp by the Japanese. The same Japanese who were all over Angelina when she showed up for the premier of "Malfecent" now don't want anything to do with her since she is bringing up something bad from Japan's past. Same as with the movie "The Railway Man" bring up the past not told in the way Japan wants it to be told, and you will be seen as a troublemaker and get the same result as they say the Chinese will give to the athletes there.

I think they should probably be more concerned with the general crime and being a victim since the locals will know that they are not from there but tourists.

What ridiculous advise. Fujiwara should have told his students to wear their team uniforms with pride, and that he would personally be leading the entire delegation on a visit to the Nanjing Memorial to place a wreath on behalf of Japan' youth. What a powerful and positive message that would be.

OssanAmerica>Do you honestly think there is one person on the Japanese team who was around in 1937?

Man, talk about missing the point. I would encourage you to read the story of Ayako Kurahashi, who at the behest of her late father had his apology for acts committed while serving the Japanese military in China inscribed on his gravestone. " In doing so, she defied powerful social pressures. Kurahashi, saw herself fitting a common pattern in Japan: although people have silent knowledge of Japanese aggression, it is taboo to talk about it."

http://www.japanfocus.org/-Kurahashi-Ayako/3396

By searching for answers the reality of father's war crimes finally sank in. I am now able to write without any hesitation that during his ten years as a military policeman, he did many inexcusable things to Chinese people, and that while he was suffering with the memories of what he did, he was unable to speak about it. There is not much to smile about when I look back over the extremely hard journey that I had to go through in order to be able to write the previous sentence. I would like to be able to laugh off the fact that war issues must still be dealt with even half a century after the war, but I cannot.

Kurahashi Ayako My Father's Dying Wish

Statistically, how many Japanese tourists have been attacked or harassed while traveling in China, counting from 1980 till 2014? Less than 50.

During the same time frame, how many Chinese students and travlers fell victim to Japanese crimes? Over 500.

I highly doubt those numbers, WellSaid. Do you have a non-PRC source for those?

I highly doubt those numbers, WellSaid. Do you have a non-PRC source for those?

Yeah, I doubt them as well. Plus, s/he forgot to put quotation marks around student. Like this ... "students".

The fact remains that Japanese of any age should be free to come to Nanjing, wear their national colors, not visit your memorial and go home.

I actually agree with this, but that doesn't mean that visiting the memorial would be a bad idea. And I do think that a team representing the nation of Japan in an international sporting event (or an official government representative for that matter) is qualitatively different from some dude on vacation.

Furthermore, on a personal level, I will say that I did feel that it was my responsibility as an American to visit the memorial at Hiroshima when I went there; a responsibility to recognize and acknowledge, a responsibility to history as I mentioned earlier. I will agree, though, that no one should be forced to go or to be threatened with violence or poor treatment for merely displaying their nationality; I think we can all agree on that.

And then, people continue to label all Japanese as the bigoted and racist ones.

Even when the Chinese were going nuts beating up Japanese citizens and destroying Japanese businesses across China a few years ago in an orgy of blood lust, by comparison, Chinese citizens throughout Japan feared not one second for their safety. Chinese citizens were safely going to Japanese schools, walking around Japanese cities, and not ONE person was assaulted.

What nonsense, and just goes to show you the double standards against Japan. If it were any other nation, the world media would call such actions ignorant and hateful. But nooooo, since it's Japanese citizens here, it's 'justified' for Chinese people to be so hateful as to potentially hurt and kill Japanese for things that happened a long time ago, and for which the Japanese government has apologized multiple times.

But nooooo, since it's Japanese citizens here, it's 'justified' for Chinese people to be so hateful as to potentially hurt and kill Japanese

Whoah, there. Who is saying this?

In answer to your question, zichi, no :-)

While they are in Nanjing, it will be good if they have a visit to the memorial. They don't have such memorials here, why not supporting those outside Japan? I think it is a good thing to be at the side of your victims, giving them pride and dignity, or returning back with the unending promise that Japan heres and listens to their story, especially when you have the chance like this in representing the country on this level. at times, sport can also play a role as a diplomatic tool in this quite diplomatically broken environment.

Japan's youth Olympians told to keep low profile in China

kind of a casual advice by tour guide.

@souka right... unending. I think people are more worried that the students wouldn't even be able to make it to the memorial because of rioting along the route.

I hope he also told them not to walk around with their wallets sticking out of their back pockets. Mr. Abe should go with them and lay a wreath, then have a meeting with his Chinese counterparts to clear up all "misunderstandings", and then sign a huge trade deal to sell an extra million Japanese cars, 3 million Nintendo Wiis and any other goods he can think of. That could be his missing 3rd arrow. What an opportunity to steal all China's thunder and reinvigorate the Japanese economy.

@ scepantheist, how pessimistic, of course, everyone should be concerned about the lives of the visiting athletes. but any riot, by any means, can also be avoided. why not collaborating with the chinese authorities or the chinese teams for the olympic. as the saying goes, there are always rooms for improvement.

@souka and what I here from you is not that China guarantees their safety, just that you want a photo-op with the students and "their victims". Non-democracies are not to be trusted, which is why parents would be legitimately concerned.

I have some Chinese friends, who are nice. But I have to admit that I sometimes feel sthg wrong with them.

Only one government for this gigantic country is what caused this. I like China, but not every part.

I think this is probably a wise move. There is no need to wave a red rag in front of a bull.

However, I do like the idea of the whole team going to the memorial in Nanjing and laying a wreath, but I do not see it happening.

Ossan: "The result of China's mandatory "Patriotic Education" in their schools. What a zoo,"

And yet you seem to have no qualms about Abe wanting to instill the same sense of 'patriotism' in staff and students at school and with textbook white-washing here.

Anyway, I think it's a shame that they need to be warned, and while Fujiwara didn't need to be so obviously public about it and contradictory ("you need to be like this, and like this... but... ummm... please explore the cities freely and with your own opinions!"), and with the sad little addendum "and it can happen in Japan, too!", it's not a bad idea to warn of potential dangers.

WhirledPeas: "I don't think it would be a bad idea for the sports team to lay a wreath with flowers and handmade cranes of peace at the Nanjing memorial."

Torn on this one. Naturally in the spirit of peace and in reconciliation I see this as a good idea, but first of all it would NEVER be allowed by the current government, especially given that some of them still say flat out Nanjing never happened. Also, it's a sporting event, not a political one, and while I think it would be well accepted by people who are political about anything Japan-China interact in, I'm not sure it's the right venue, and could even be used as political fodder by one party or both. The PM needs to go to Nanjing, on an anniversary, and lay a wreath; not kids going over for a sporting event.

@scipantheist, while u might be critical to what i wrote, well i didn't mention though that they should just go and have a photo-op or something with "their victims". i think that is extreme in its own interpretation. u kno what i mean, like what had been mentioned by some, just visiting the place with good honest intent can bring a different and positive message to china (and perhaps other countries?). suggesting though that nothing can be done, and that the current status quo should go as it is, will not help things imo.

'I sincerely doubt that. Here in Japan I see dozens and dozens of tourists from PRC every day. They are obvious by their terrible manners and loud voices. Being polite, the Japanese confine their reactions to rolled eyeballs.'

A textbook example of laughable bigotry - summing up the character of whole nations in a few sentences. Interesting that I've found ill-mannered idiots in both countries or any country for that matter. My favourite example in Japan happened in a bar when I was speaking to a Chinese coworker in my broken Chinese and a couple next to us were commentating on the ugly sounds of the language we were using with some pretty nasty comments about China thrown in although I didn't tell him I heard this ( I wish some Japanese would realize that some non-Japanese do understand their language and speaking ill of others within earshot is appalling manners ). Getting tired of listening to my broken rubbish we switched to English and the couple continued to commentate on the ugly sounds of Chinese we were using and at one point were mimicking our intonation ( my coworker is bilingual, speaking with almost impeccable US pronunciation ). Ah, politeness and manners.

Jimizo, It is annoying if somebody talks loudly in a bar.

@Tina I know, we had to raise our voices to match the screams and shouts of drunken salarymen and the forced laughter and clapping from the women with them.

Markus LAug. 12, 2014 - 11:05AM JST "OssanAmerica>Do you honestly think there is one person on the Japanese team who was around in 1937?" Man, talk about missing the point. I would encourage you

No it is YOU who has missed the point of international sports competition and exchanges. They ALL exist for the purpose of improving relations on a shared cultural level, not to be a tool for politics or diplomatic disputes,

AlphaapeAug. 12, 2014 - 10:55AM JST Same could be said about Japan. An upcoming film by Angelina Jolie called "Unbroken" about a former US Olympic >runner who was shot down in the Pacific in WWII and spent years in a Japanese POW camp, has already caused >somewhat of a stir since it shows the brutality that he endured in the POW camp by the Japanese.

You do realize that a great may IJA POW guards were Koreans and were known for exceptional brutality towards allied POWs right? Quite a number of them were charged and convicted as Class B and C War Criminals at the Tokyo Trials.

Jimizo, Sounds like some Izakayas or something. Usually, bars are not that noisy.

A textbook example of laughable bigotry

Two things. First, the appalling manners I see on display from the PRC tourists in Japan every day is far from 'laughable'. The fact that you'd like to dismiss it as such says a lot. Second, congratulations on entirely missing the point of this thread and my post in your crusade to identify and stamp out 'bigotry' on the internet. Let me assist you in returning to the point. The article suggests that Japanese youth will be targeted by commie thugs if they leave the safety of the athletes village wearing Japanese colors. Some ill-informed posters have gone so far as to suggest that PRC "students" are more likely to be assaulted in Japan than is any Japanese national traveling in PRC. In my comment (the one that you took exception to), I was merely pointing out that anyone with eyes can see the hordes of PRC tourists on a daily basis - they are not hard to identify because they make a spectacle of themselves with their poor manners and loud obnoxious shouting - yet none of them are assaulted by Japanese citizens. I've never heard of a single case.

So, in short, PRC tourists free to wander the cities of Japan without a care. Japanese tourists to PRC afraid to leave the room wearing a Japanese tracksuit. I hope that clears up my point for you.

My favourite example in Japan happened in a bar when I was speaking to a Chinese coworker in my broken Chinese and a couple next to us were commentating on the ugly sounds of the language we were using with some pretty nasty comments about China thrown in although I didn't tell him I heard this ( I wish some Japanese would realize that some non-Japanese do understand their language and speaking ill of others within earshot is appalling manners ). Getting tired of listening to my broken rubbish we switched to English and the couple continued to commentate on the ugly sounds of Chinese we were using and at one point were mimicking our intonation ( my coworker is bilingual, speaking with almost impeccable US pronunciation ). Ah, politeness and manners.

Cool story bro. What's the relevance to the topic at hand again?

Not just Chinese tourists but Chinese residents are so noisy, and people are just enduring. Maybe I should ask them to lower their voices down next time. I wonder what will happen.

Let bygone be bygone, we are all Asians why don't we get along, I'm from Burma in olden days we used to attack Siam now Thailand we burnt down Amarapura which was the capital city of Siam ( Thailand) we never talk about how we killed and torture and plunder and the Thais never talk about it we do get along very well****

we switched to English and the couple continued to commentate on the ugly sounds of Chinese we were using

I call BS on that

Japan should have boycotted these Youth Olympics.