Australianexpatinchina comments

boweevil- "So it is both illogical and dishonest to say that these criminals made Japan what it is today. It is thanks to the hardworking post-war generations of Japanese that Japan florished."

So very very true. It is a shame that Abe is bringing disrepute to the same country that those hard working Japanese people have taken to the forefront of technology, industry and expertise after WWII. To the point where they are respected by the rest of the world with many people aspiring to be like or as good as the Japanese. There is a story that I was told as a boy about a very famous Swiss watch maker that was peeved at Japans growing reputation in becoming a world class watch maker. The Swiss watch maker set about manufacturing the worlds smallest watch spring and sent it to Seiko to put Seiko in its place. Seiko sent the watch spring back to the Swiss watch maker with a microscopic hole drilled drilled sideways through every spring leaf. That really says it all. Lets hope that Abe and his current supporters don't go down in history as being the one's that brought a great country to its knees.

I really haven't heard of the CFDC before reading this article, and a similar one in the Chinese media, but I would guess that judging by the name of the organisation along with the demand being made, and the tone it's been made in, that the CFDC will receive what they deserve in these circumstances, which is nothing. And who could expect otherwise. There might well be a case to have the stele returned to China, and I haven't read all the details of who owned what, when and where, but to make demands instead of diplomatic requests of another country in these circumstances is really poor diplomacy. I don't think even the hard line, pro Chinese/anti Japanese would support the requested outcome in this situation, and quite frankly the CFDC are not helping China's cause or reputation in anyway if this is the way they are going to conduct their business. Stolen artifacts belong with the counties they came from but there are much better ways of getting them returned than the way the CFDC are going about it. Absolutely counter productive.

Best not to forget that OSI is a US owned company working under US overall management, guidelines, policies and procedures who obviously have lax monitoring and auditing procedures in place. I'm not trying to take any responsibility away from the Chinese employees and local management that have been conducting this despicable crime and are obviously criminals, and no doubt, and justifiably will be punished accordingly. Reading some of the previous posts amazes me that some people think that China is the only place that this sort of thing could go on and has gone on. Obviously there is no crime in Japan, hence the lack of need for a police force in Japan..........LOL. FYI, The Chinese police department have already arrested 5 of the local Senior Chinese management of OSI and are well into their investigation and no doubt that will lead to more arrests and actions to come. I only hope that they continue investigating up into the senior management, as well as in the US to make sure the problem hasn't stemmed from there. Knowing what I know after living and working in China for some years the people responsible will go to jail for a long time. Contrary to popular western belief about "Communist China" and restrictions on voice (which is only believed by the naive and those that haven't spent enough time here) there will be a large backlash from the Chinese population against the Chinese Government for allowing this to happen. Sorry if this give the compulsive Chinese bashers nowhere to go.

OssanAmerica "Give it a rest? Is there no longer any outstanding warrants for Watson? Is he free to appear in public? Japan has abided by the ICJ ruling and has stopped he Jarpa II program. So what's the point in Sea Shepherd handing over a threat letter at this time? The ICJ ruling, if you ever read it which I am sure you didn't, does not declare Japan's research whaling as not being research, it ruled on the grounds that there were insufficiencies to be called completely research. Worse for you, the ICJ outlined what Japan must do to correct those insufficiencies. Japan is hardly the "laughing stock" of the world because the "world", like most normal human beings, doesn't care. IF Japan returns with an ironclad Jarpa III program meeting all of the ICJ requirements, Australia and NZealand will have no legal options left, other than bring a suit against the IWC to eliminate Article VIII. That's IF they can find a court that would take such a case. So please give it a rest ok? ."

The point is that Abe said he would abide by the decision of the ICJ but has now reneged and said that he will try to find a way to restart whaling in the southern ocean. This guy can't be trusted. His word is worth nothing. Just like Japan has been a peace loving nation since WWII. There is a reason for that, so why go and change it. The Japanese people have a secure and peaceful life and are respected worldwide, so why have it turned into turmoil by a war mongering idealist? Try and see the other side of the story for a change.

JT neglected to mention that it was the Australian Federal Labour party that accused the Liberal Government of strengthening the relationship with Japan at the risk of damaging the relationship with China. Australia is not exempt from internal politics. Not that I'm a labour supporter, but based on the Liberal's current performance I'd expect there will a change of government in Australia at the next election and my prediction would be Japan will have the same result based on Abe's performance. The current Australian government are entirely out of their depth in many areas, especially where foreign affairs are concerned. There is only one way for both countries to go after a change of the current governments, and that is up!

">OssanAmericaJun. 09, 2014 - 09:34PM JST

"Francis will travel to South Korea on August 13-18."

Maybe his Holiness can give a speech about the concept of "forgiveness"?"

I would suggest that his holiness would need to hold a confessional for the Japanese govt. first.

It is good that the Japanese delegation have taken this first step towards mending ties with China. It is also good that the Chinese side has accepted the Japanese delegation. For those that are blinded by their own misgivings and want selectively pick arguments for the sake of either China or Japan bashing, they don't help the situation in anyway and only contribute to the ongoing problems instead of a resolution. As always there are 2 sides to every story. Hopefully things will progress from here although be it slowly and a bumpy road to travel with no easy long term solution.

Ossan, "Australia has used the ICJ to succeed in it's goal of destroying the IWC completely." It's about time somebody did! At least the Aussies have had the guts to stand up for something that is in the interests of the worlds ecology. But it is probably too early for you to be too disappointed because I'm sure the current Japanese govt will find a loop hole, or just increase their efforts in other areas of the ocean in an effort to desecrate the whale population for the sake of their national pride at the cost of what they don't care about, which is the interests of the rest of the world.

Ossanamerica, "My late uncle was a 19 yeart old Marine on Guadalcanal. He had not one bad word to say about Japan or the Japanese as long as I remember. Most of the world has moved on, put past conflicts behind them and are working together to deal with current threats, crises and problems.'

My father was a WWII veteran who at 19 years old fought for Australia. He spent a full five years fighting in the middle east and the islands north of Australia. He was also a 'Rat of Tobruck'. He was blown up in a bren gun carrier by a land mine in the middle east and not expected to live. By some miracle he survived and when he recovered he was sent to fight again in the islands north of Australia against the Japanese, and he was shot in the buttocks diving into a trench while under enemy fire while fighting there. I never once heard him say one bad thing about the Germans or Japanese, and believe me as a boy, I did ask him lots of questions about the war. When I am home I make it a point to march in Sydney on ANZAC day with my fathers battalion (what is left of them). There are those that have bitter memories and no kind words for the Japanese after being POW's of the Japanese army. They say that they were the lucky one's as they eventually made it home. My father had a different point of view.

After WWII my father built a healthy respect for the Japanese through an Australian company that he worked for. That same company employed many immigrants while building the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme in Australia starting from 1948, including Germans, and they were heavily engaged in business with the Japanese including being the first Australian company to import and become the distributors for Toyota.

After the war my father had many good friends that included Japanese and Germans. The only comments I can remember him making about the war was that when he was looking down the rifle barrel at Japanese and German men the same age as him, was that he knew that neither of them really knew why they were fighting each other. He also said that the west may have won the war, but the Japanese had in reality won overall. When I asked what he meant, he pointed out the TV, his car, our radio. They were all made in Japan. He had the ability to move on, even after all that he endured during WWII. Maybe your uncle was the same? Many of my fathers friends also fought in WWII and I never heard any bad stories. They buried their bad memories in the past. I now live and work in China for a Chinese company in a remote area of China. My wife is a Chinese national and her father was a prominent figure in the Chinese Government so I have a reasonable understanding of the current situation in China. Chinese people and the Chinese authorities have treated me well and the Chinese people that work for me are also treated well by the Chinese government. I have lots of friends her in many walks of life an they don't have many complaints. There are a lot of misnomers out there about China and the Chinese government. Not many of them are true. Life here is very free. There is no win for anyone in the current situation without compromise by both the Chinese and Japanese governments. I also don't believe from what I have seen that the majority of Chinese people are anti Japan, in fact, quite the opposite.

You are correct when you say "Most of the world has moved on, put past conflicts behind them and are working together to deal with current threats, crises and problems.' We all need to be reminded some times that it is a 2 way street. People that constantly bash one side or the other just for the sake of bias or prejudice do not contribute to an end of the problem. Sometimes it takes a long hard look in the mirror to find the root of the problem.

OssanAmerica, What do you personally remember???? For those that are full of opinions it would be good if they were balanced and not consistently biased.

@wildwest "That's great, but I do notice that Australia has hardly been mentioned thought it was 3rd to have aircraft searching. All you here is America China Malasia & Vietnam." Australia has been mentioned in the majority of media outlets in China, as has Japan and the other counties involved. I think around 9 or 10 countries in total now.

StrangerlandMar. 13, 2014 - 02:46PM JST "That reminds me of my first trip to China. I had this image of police in the streets, communist signs everywhere, people careful of what they said, and hatred of westerners. None of these ended up being true. My image of the country changed significantly after visiting. This isn't to say it doesn't have problems, but the problems it does have were not exactly as I had imagined them."

So very true. My first time to China was the same. Now to have lived and worked in China for some years gives a different perspective again. The large majority of the people I have been involved with are great, and have a well balanced view on things as well as the Japan China relationship, for which the majority of comments are positive. As always, there are the minority with a different view, but those are generally people that lack experience in a lot of areas. I have found China a terrific place to work and live. I have been treated very well, and the Chinese people are very respectful and helpful. That includes the general public as well as the authorities. That sentiment is not only displayed to me as a foreigner, as my wife is Chinese and she receives the same treatment. She has also lived in Australia so she understands both sides of the coin.

On Friday, a group of Japanese historians stood behind the apology, and slammed any move to change it as “unforgivable”.

Once again this highlights that fact that the whole Japanese population doesn't share the same view. It is the minority. The problem is that the minority in question are in prominent positions either in Government or in high ranking positions associated with the government. No doubt, if the choice was given to the ordinary Japanese people to vote on, it would show a different view to that of the minority in government, but I don't doubt that the ordinary Japanese people are growing tired of the constant bashing they are receiving from both Korea and China. There are people in all 3 of the governments concerned that have the ability to turn all the current problems around. It needs to be said though that the current problems would be easier to resolve if they weren't being constantly inflamed.

I have to agree with most of the comments above, but also what scruples and morals do Channel 7 lack. Anything for a story at any cost. Absolute bottom dwellers that will cross any line to keep their ratings up.

Zichi, Thanks for the link. It is very enlightening.

Tamarama, You are absolutely correct!

Very sad situation when unsuspecting families lining up at a public railway station waiting to board trains to travel can be attacked by what could only be deemed terrorists. Lets hope none of the JPT posters try to politicize this. This could happen to anyone, anywhere in today's world. I feel for the innocent people involved. I'm thankful my wife and I weren't traveling from Kun Ming station at that time.

For those that wonder about the timing of the commemoration of the Nanking massacre and why not sooner.....surely it's not hard to see that if some high level people with ties to the current Japanese government weren't trying to suddenly deny it happened, the Chinese government wouldn't be taking the stance with the commemoration that they are now. The previous Japanese Japanese governments have done a reasonable job of managing affairs with China and SK. It's a petty that the current Japanese government appears to be set on a head long course of undoing that good work. Bertiewooster:

"Um. Might it have something to do with Abe's ultra right wing activities, such as the "Secrecy bill," denial of history and return to militarism?" You raise some good points. The concern with the "Secrecy Bill" is Taro Aso's comments about "being able to learn a thing or two from Nazi Germany about constitutional reform". If you haven't already, read this, http://thediplomat.com/2013/08/taro-aso-on-japanese-constitutional-reform-learn-from-the-nazis/ Here is one Quote from Taro Aso “The German Weimar Constitution changed, without being noticed, to the Nazi German constitution. Why don’t we learn from their tactics?”

Joe Biggs-You say "What does "per capita" mean? Well, that is simple, how much people make on average. The argument that China is actually spending less because it's people make less is complete silliness."

Incorrect! Per capita means per person. Not what the average person makes in salary. In the context of how much China spends per capita means how much they spend per person. In other words it means to average their defence spending by the amount of people in the country. There is also something else missing from the equation and that is the area of land mass and length of borders and coast line that China needs to defend. A far greater area than Japan. That is something that is possibly still a thorn in the side for some Japanese politicians. That is that Japan went through what they did in WWII and still don't have that land mass and coast line......................

Americanhonor.....You say " if you went to China you would soon realise the communist regime is indeed crumbling and so is their economy... Thousands of multi millionaires are leaving China en masse. There are all the signs China will experience a hard landing as its economy is crumbling, they almost defaulted on a huge payment in a wealth management fund that Chinas largest bank was steuggling to repay. This would have severe consequencies on the wotld economy, but its going to happen. When it does, And the dust settles China's dream will be over." Propaganda at it's best. I'm living and working in China and I don't see any of the things you mention. What I do see is things improving year upon year. I think you are doing more dreaming than China.

OssanAmerica, did you actually read my post or are you so emotional about China bashing that you can't see the tree's for the forest? My comment about the negative things to come out of the media was in reference to the cartoon that was printed, so to clear that issue up I don't disagree with your comments. As for your comments about the China and North Korea situation I was referring to the positive comments that came out of the meeting between Kerry and his Chinese counterparts. You appear to be intent on living in the past and referencing historical things that have happened which puts you in a situation that you are very critical of others doing. You are so quick to condemn both China and South Korea in your posts that there is no balance in any of your arguments. It is time for everyone involved to start moving on. That will never happen when there is only one side to your argument and you consider yourself to always be right.

OssanAmerica, there was a lot of positive to come out of the meeting between Kerry and his counterparts. They are the things that people on all sides should be focusing on. Not constantly 'one eyed' bashing over some negative things to come out of part of the media.

The Asian think tank in SK could find something more constructive and productive to do than producing and publishing poll results that add to an already bad situation. I think also to have a totally biased 'one eyed' point of view towards either one side or the other doesn't add any value to the current situation and detracts from some of the more balanced and intelligent posts that are on JPT.

The problem here is not Japan or the Japanese people, or necessarily all previous Japanese leaders. There has been a lot of repenting, repairing and good done by previous Japanese Prime ministers and govt. The problem here is that Abe is intent on undoing all the good that has previously been done by Japanese Leaders and appears to be on a trail of destruction at any cost.

*>**some07791Jan. 17, 2014 - 07:41AM JST

“The way the Japanese think about the East China Sea now is like how they thought about northeast China. They didn’t stop at the northeast, they kept heading south to Shanghai and even Southeast Asia,” Li said.

Wow, the propaganda in China must be really good. Japan has done nothing to indicate it wants to expand. It just wants to maintain its control of the senkakus.

China isnt so good at misdirection.

some07791......Do you really believe that??? Read these comments fro the Japanese deputy Prime minister from August last year..........

Taro Aso has done it again. This time, the terminally gaffe-prone deputy prime minister has invoked the ire of a New York City-based Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, after suggesting that Japan could learn a thing or two from Nazi Germany when it comes constitutional reform.

“First, mass media started to make noises about Japan’s proposed reforms, and then China and South Korea followed suit,” Aso said in a speech at a right-leaning think tank on Monday. “The German Weimar Constitution changed, without being noticed, to the Nazi German constitution. Why don’t we learn from their tactics?”

China has every right to be concerned about Japan today. So ha the rest of the world!

OssanAmerica *saketown, I can't find a thing in your post that I can agree with. The entire world helped China get out of the stone age to where they are today,** You need to get your head out of your proverbial. The Chinese were manufacturing before America was on the map. They put themselves where they are today through what we call smarts and a strong resolve. Dare you look back at America's history. It is always those that are quickest to point the finger that are most often the worst offenders themselves. Japan has taken no steps to get involved in dialogue with China to resolve the issue. Instead they are working hard to stir as much trouble as possible. I haven't seen one post from you that gives a balanced, unbiased point of view. And as for your comment: China does not "own" the United States, nor is the U.S. economy (or the world's for that matter) entirely dependent on China. Neither does the US own China, and the world is no longer dependent on the US economy. Welcome to 2013. So lets see what one eyed propaganda you can come up with as a response.