fw360 comments

What the hell... another case of a big power ignoring an international court-ruling or norm. Japan has learn a lesson from the super power America (e.g. USA defied ICJ ruling which favored Nicaragua) to disregard ICJ. No wonder Beijing is using a technicality to ignore Philippines' petition against PRC in international tribunal for SCS dispute.

"Excess focus on past" can be avoided ONLY after true repentance.

Why can’t the Abe regime learn a lesson from the German government. Modern Germany has made a total break, by words and actions, from Nazi Germany.

However, the most recent Japanese reaction to UNSCO registey reinforces the notion that the current Japanese regime under Abe is immoral and shameless (and hopeless to bring Japan to be respected by the world community). They just cannot come clean and disconnect themselves from its fascist imperial Japan of WW2.

The ball is in your court, Abe. The world is watching.

It is incredible that the current Japanese government can shamelessly say it is “disappointed” (by Suga) and ask China to “forget the unfortunate history” (by Abe).

1) Given the fact Abe has refused to “come clean” or totally apologize on the WW2 Fascist Japan atrocities in Asia (like what the post-war Germany did), his government has zero right to complain about what went in the WW2 V-day ceremony in Beijing. 2) By turning down the invitation and decided to send no representative (not even its ambassador in Beijing), the current Japanese government has lost a great opportunity to disconnect itself from the Fascist Japan (like Germany did) and denounce the misdeeds of the Imperial Japan. By this kind of stupidity, it continues to expose itself as admirer of its dark Fascist history… thus promotes the suspicion of its national militaristic character by the people in Asia, especially in China and Korea.

Japan, you need to do the right thing… to get the forgiveness of people in Asia. Can you come clean publically by deeds and words? (PRC, via Xi JinPing’s comment, stated clearly it will never seek hegemony… it does not matter whether you believe it or not, at least he stated that publicly.)

The words of another commentor are so on target that they worth repeating here...

=============== Mr. PerfectDec. 14, 2014 - 10:07AM JST

To all those who take issue with the Chinese president Xi's speech, a ceremony being held in Nanjing to mark the 77th anniversary of the massacre and finally the tally of the number of victims that were estimated to have been murdered, please show a little consistency!

When Japan commemorates the bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki EVERY YEAR, and every Prime Minister of Japan gives a speech, when Japanese remember the civilians killed by Allied planes during the fire-bombing of Tokyo, those killed in Okinawa or if these and other events actually occurred in the first place, you never speak up and demand that the Japanese MOVE ON and get a life! You instead show consideration and respect and rightfully so. You don't point out that Japan started the war in the first place and invaded most of Asia and was responsible for massive loss of life. You don't go on a rampage attacking the Japanese for the thousands of Koreans and other minorities that were executed following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, oh yeah, sorry, they were mostly Koreans so you deny that happened as well or take issue with the # of deceased.

Your racial prejudice is deafening and like so many of you when it comes to atrocities committed against the Chinese, Koreans, the Jews in Europe or any of the other victims of WWII, you always show contempt and disrespect to the victims and this is unforgivable. Move on and keep silent and let the victims and their ascendents grieve as they see fit, as you so considerately and respectfully do when it comes to the Japanese.

@ Mr. Perfect

Bravo!!

Superbly stated... my sentiment exactly. (Especially after reading the newly posted comments of LuckyNeko, who did not get what you stated.)

@ Mr. Perfect Bravo! Superbly stated... my sentiment also.

@liarsnfools I generally agree with your analysis. It is pretty insightful.

@ Farmboy

The current dictatorial CCP system is obviously NOT sustainable, given the florishing desire and taste of the expanding middle class in China. They are pushing to change many things in China and in CCP. Even the current regime is trying to appease the majority in Tibet with policies/regulations while having iron-fist rule.

I am hopeful that, in the near future, China will morph (driven internally) to become democractic and official reconciliations will occur on: Tibet, Xinjiang, TianAnMen Square, etc.

@gokai_wo_maneku

Who knows, it might be on the drawing board.

Projects need to be prioritized and completed step by step. YuanMingYuan in Beijing is a great site for that. (You should read some of the introduction at the entrance of the site.)

@arcieres

The point is the "denial" by many prominant Japanese leaders and a fairly sizable right-wing group. If there is total acknowledgement of the history, people will move on healthier relationship... just like in the case of Holocost by Nazi Germany.

Wow. The international press again failed in its professionalism!

Most international major news reports avoided to mention a key point of Mr. Xi's speech (in the last one third of his short talk), where he basically said: "We should not hate Japanese, but we should hate the crime".

He also said China wants to have a peaceful relationship with Japan looking forward.

As a technical discussion, before this controversial exploratory oil rig showed up… under what kind of international rule or law did the other nations set up a few dozen oil rigs (already pumping oil) in the disputed areas of the South China Sea?

Here is the REST OF THE STORY as reported by Reuters:

"...Hanoi said some 40 Chinese fishing boats had surrounded the Vietnamese craft before one of them rammed it and it sank. Vietnamese fishing boats operating nearby rescued the 10 fishermen on board, the government and the coastguard said. China's official Xinhua news agency, citing a government source, said the vessel capsized after "harassing and colliding with" a Chinese fishing boat..."

Additional facts: China positioned its rig 27km off China-controlled Paracel Islands and 241km off the Vietnamese coast. The issue here is whether China can drill near its controlled islands... similar to many other countries drilling near their controlled but disputed islands in South China Sea. Obviously China thinks it can. Ironically, relative to the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute, in this case China is playing the role of Japan... kept on insisting there is no dispute here and does not want to go to international court.

This is another big lie from Abe.

No explanation is needed and just do an easy solution… if Abe and his supports in Japan (who is now the majority as determined by votes) really want to take this problem off the diplomatic table.

The solution is… as suggested unsuccessfully before by Japanese legislators… to remove the names of these convicted Class-A War Criminals (symbols of WW2 Fascist Japan) out from this historic shrine. So this will not be front and center in Japanese international relationship with her key neighbors.

Then, Abe (and any other Japanese politician) can pay tribute there everyday and nobody can complain… and no explanation needed.

Abe is smart.

Now even Germany and Russia officially joined the chorus of condemnation of his shrine visit. Japan is on the other side of the table against most of its important international relationships. With this one single act, Abe painted Japan into a corner. Just image Japan’s position in international gatherings, e.g. the Six-sided Korean Peace Talk… five against one isolated Japan. US will have more problems in helping Japan to do its bids. Japan can kiss goodbye on entering the UN Security Council as a permanent member. Japan is moving down the path of right-wing extreme nationalists… it is moving closer to become the pariah of the world.

If the Japan economic recovery hiccups, Abe’s cabinet will be down the toilet… maybe dragging Japan with them.

Abe is smart… and his supports too.

Abe is smart.

Now even Russia officially joined the chorus of condemnation of his shrine visit. Japan is on the other side of the table against most of its important international relationships. With this one single act, Abe painted Japan into a corner. Just image Japan’s position in international gatherings, e.g. the Six-sided Korean Peace Talk… five against one isolated Japan. US will have more problems in helping Japan to do its bids. Japan can kiss goodbye on entering the UN Security Council as a permanent member. Japan is moving down the path of right-wing extreme nationalists… it is moving closer to become the pariah of the world.

If the Japan economic recovery hiccups, Abe’s cabinet will be down the toilet… maybe dragging Japan with them.

Abe is smart… and his supports too.

I hope the collection of posters here is not a representation of the general Japanese population. If it were, then I am afriad the world is finished. Remember China and Japan are the number two and number three nuclear-capable economies!

I am so depressed to see so many mindless red-neck Japanese nationalists (or promoters) in a supposedly more sophisticated and civilized society. They are no better than the brain-washed extremists on the other side.

@Sentiments -- I can agree with your logic... but you have understand the logic of the other side, so that you know how to manage it... instead of aggravate it.

Actually, I strongly agree with @Pakjournalist's post: Arms race only brings sufferings to the people.

I think most of the poster here have been drinking from the same cool-aide… one sided without any understanding of the other side. That why you are confused why PRC did what they did.

1) If you read anything from PRC English news outlets, you can easily see that they explain their recent investment in military is “catching up”. Because they were so poor before, they are totally left behind in terms of modern defense. Even at today’s level, we all know their composite navy and air-force power are much less than Japan’s, let alone US. They are trying to synchronize their military capability in step with their economic status. You may not agree with this argument… but it is logical.

2) As for the incident with US naval ship recently, here is what I have read from some Hong Kong news papers: The incident occurred in international water. However the US ship had entered the pre-announced (area and time) and closed-off PLA naval drill area. The US ship was warned not to enter, it refused. Then the PLAN sent one of their ships to stop the entry. Does that story make sense?

So from their viewpoint, even with these two items plus the newly announced copy-cat ADIZ, they are not being aggressive… just being defensive.

Again, before you can solve a problem you need to understand the reason for the problem… I believe Biden has a better understanding of the situation than most of the politicians in Japan.

According to some Hong Kong newspapers: The incident occured in international water. However the US ship has entered the pre-announced (area and time) and closed-off PLA naval drill area. The US ship was warned not to enter, it refused; then the PLAN send one of their ships to stop the entry. Does that make sense?

If we have no peace, because we have forgotten we belong to each other. ... Mother Teresa

Well, I thought we (the people outside of China) are frequently self-proclaimed the smarter and more sophisticated ones.

Japan should have the smartness to understand the root causes and the capability to manage, at least mitigate, the Chinese and Korean "nationalism"... maybe there is a lesson to be learned from post-WW2 Germany which manages to have good relationship with its former enemies?

@ OssanAmerica

I actually agree with the logic of your comment. But that does not matter. The problem is that a lot of people in China do not think that way... and that is the attitude that Japan need to understand and deal with. Good luck, Japan.

To solve a problem, you have to know the underlying reason of the problem. You need to see the problem from the other side. Do people in Japan understand the other side of the Sino-Japanese friction of today?

When I read in JT that Ambassador Kennedy paid tribute to the memorial of the victims of the WW2 nuclear bombing in Japan, I posted the question: Has any Japanese ambassador paid tribute to the victims of massacres in China and Korea? (Unfortunately, that comment was deleted by the monitor… is that a sign of the time in Japan?)

If permitted (by the monitor), I would like to tell people something about the other side… The following post relay a popular sentiment among Chinese and that is one of factors that is tearing apart the Sino-Japanese relationship:

Today, Dec 13th, is the 76th anniversary of NANJING MASSACRE in China by the Fascist Japan in 1937. How can we forget and let alone forgive when Japanese leaders today still refuse to acknowledge that atrocities occurred there. We have idiots in Japan who claimed that it was a Chinese fabrication. When people tell me that it was a long time ago and that Chinese should forget it. Really? Tell that to the Jews. Many Western countries even have laws that states “denial of holocaust” is a crime. By that definition many current Japanese politicians should be tried and imprisoned.

@Ayesha

The answer is: Japan side changed the status quo.

I undestand Japan is explaining this action as a preventive measure against the likes of Ishihara from owning them. But this nationalization was discussed with China beforehand and they rejected that solution.

China side view this as sneady way for Tokyo to change the status quo... supposedly there was a mutual understanding, when they started diplomatic relationship decades ago, not to change it before the ownership dispute is resolved.

So much misinformation from many posters. Let me provide my view, hopefully a more balanced view.

1) On the PRC’s ADIZ - - - As I posted before…

People, reporters included, have missed a key point in this dispute.

It is not because China ESTABLISHED this identification-zone over international air space… More than 20 countries (started by US) ESTABLISHED their identification-zones the same way decades ago. Additionally, US naval carriers have established “mobile” identification-zones around them.

It is not because China UNILATERALLY established this identification-zone … all countries did their identification-zones “UNILATERALLY”.

It is not because this Chinese identification-zone OVERLAPS with that of Japan, Korea, Taiwan… Japanese identification-zone (expanded twice) OVERLAPS with that of Korea and Taiwan (against their protests).

It is not because this Chinese identification-zone requires IDENTIFICATION AND LOCATION INFORMATION before the plane enters the zone aiming to fly into the host country… All identification-zones have this requirement.

The problem is that China identification-zone requires “flight plans beforehand for even just passing-through”… that is a new requirement that does not exist in the previous ADIZ identification-zones from the other countries. So the “flight plan for passing through” should be the bone of contention or criticism… because all the other arguments have no moral and logic ground to stand on!

Then I just read from another poster in JT that currently Japan requires the civilian airlines from Taiwan to submit "flight plan for just passing through" the Japanese ADIZ.

Well, if that is true, then Japan has lost ALL its legal and moral ground to protest against PRC's ADIZ? What a hypocritical and double-standard position that Japan is taking. No wonder I heard many people in diplomatic circles in New York UN are laughing behind their backs.

2) Who is the trouble-maker for the current cycle of “tic for tac” - - - Before 12-months ago, the Senkaku/Diayu area was fairly quite even with the conflicting claim of ownership for many decades… PRC’s government ships and planes never enter this region; actually PRC (and Taiwan) tried to stop their fishing boats from reaching this area. But this relatively quiet disappeared after the “nationalization” of the disputed islands about a year ago by the Japanese government… i.e. broke the status quo of this area.

Obvious to the world, Japan started the current cycle of heighten tension.

I just read from another poster in JT that currently Japan requires the civilian airlines from Taiwan to submit "flight plan for just passing through" the Japanese ADIZ.

Well, if that is true, then Japan has lost ALL it legal and moral ground to protest against PRC's ADIZ? What a hypocritical and double-standard position that Japan is taking. No wonder I heard many people in diplomatic circles in New York UN are laughing behind their backs.

First, let us lay down some facts:

*People have missed a key point in this dispute.

It is not because China ESTABLISHED this identification-zone over international air space… More than 20 countries (started by US) ESTABLISHED their identification-zones the same way decades ago. Additionally, US naval carriers have established “mobile” identification-zones around them.

It is not because China UNILATERALLY established this identification-zone … all countries did their identification-zones “UNILATERALLY”.

It is not because this Chinese identification-zone OVERLAPS with that of Japan, Korea, Taiwan… Japanese identification-zone (expanded twice) OVERLAPS with that of Korea and Taiwan (against their protests).

It is not because this Chinese identification-zone requires IDENTIFICATION AND LOCATION INFORMATION before the plane enters the zone aiming to fly into the host country… All identification-zones have this requirement.

The problem is that China identification-zone requires “flight plans beforehand for even just passing-through”… that is a new requirement that does not exist in the previous ADIZ identification-zones from the other countries. So the “flight plan for passing through” should be the bone of contention or criticism… because all the other arguments have no moral and logic ground to stand on!*

Second, is Abe nuts? Remember we often say Chinese radar systems are not as sophisticated and their ragtag pilots are not as well trained as the Japanese. Did Abe think about the possibility of accident or "mistaken identity" with these civilian airlines?

Wow. This nutty Japanese stance is still maintained!?

US government has advised all American airlines to submit flight plans for “passing through” this PRC ADIZ. (I am also curious why Japan Today does not report this.) This really slaps the face of Abe’s government… They demanded non-compliance from Japanese airlines who withdrew their previous compliance statements. That really make Japanese look bad… they are violating the cardinal rule of civilian flights: first priority is the passenger safety. They care more about playing politics than civilian lives!

Although China stated civilian airlines are not the targets, US wants to make sure there is no accidental mistaken identity (like US bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yogoslavia by mistake many years ago).

I think the next quarterly financial reports of JAL and ANA will prove to the world that Abe’s government is not very smart.

Is there any coordination between Japan and US?

Here are some sample articles you can read.

Reuters: U.S. commercial airlines advised to notify China of flight plans http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/30/us-japan-china-usa-airlines-idUSBRE9AT01K20131130

CNN: U.S. 'advising' airlines to 'comply' with China request on disputed zone http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/world/asia/china-japan-us-tensions/index.html?iref=allsearch

Folks, note in the titles, Reuters used the word "advised" and CNN used "advising"... so is that "urging" or not? So, the US government did not do what the Abe government did a few days ago: asking the civilian airlines not to comply.

I think two persons, at least, should be fired: The Japanese advisor suggested non-compliance and the Japanese coordinator with US on this.

The lack of coordination between US and its allies is obvious, to say the least... it is embarrasing to the Japanese governement which now announced it will leave it to the Japanese airlinese to comply or not. Wow! What a mess.