The Sino-Japanese Relationship After Abe's Security Bills
Background of Sino-Japanese relationship before interview
The Sino-Japanese relationship had been tense since the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, followed by other wars between both countries. Nowadays, despite being trading partners, there are still a lot of arguments over Diaoyu Island sovereignty, Japan Prime Ministers visiting Yasukuni Jinja and recently the passing of Abe’s Security Bill, making the relationship unstable.
The passing of Abe’s Security Bills* has been controversial. Many people criticized that the bills have torn open Asia’s wounds from World War II instead of healing them. There are also different opinions among Japanese. The Sino-Japanese relationship has raised concern again globally. In view of this, we have interviewed Professor Simon Shen, an expert on international relations at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The Abe's Security Bill
On 18th September, 2015, the Japanese Parliament passed the National Security Bill that allows the country’s military forces to participate in foreign conflicts. The Bill grants the power of operating for ‘self-defense’ for allies in the military conflicts.
Meeting with Professor Simon Shen (CUHK) - an expert on international relations
(1) The issue on Diaoyu Island
(2) The issue on Abe's Security Bill
Excerpt from Interview with Professor Simon Shen
Q:When Japan exercises the right to collective self-defense, how will Sino-Japanese relationship be affected?
A:There will not be significant effect on Sino-Japanese relationship. The Japanese economy very much relies on the market in China. Since the asset price bubble in 1986, economic development in Japan has been stagnated. Therefore Japan has keenly engaged in economic cooperation with China and other countries in recent years. This shows Japanese economy heavily relies on Chinese market. Sino-Japanese relationship is close in terms of economic development. So when the right to collective self-defense is exercised, China and Japan can still maintain a close and cooperating relationship.
Q: Do the conflicts between Japan and China on the sovereignty of Diaoyu Island show Japan and the United States have formed a hidden alliance against China a long time ago?
A: After the Second World War, Japan and the United States become strategic partners. In the conflicts concerning Diaoyu Island sovereignty, though the United States admitted Diaoyu Island belonged to the coverage of Security Bill, the US government has not clearly stated its stance in the conflicts. Therefore, the claim that Japan and the United States have formed a hidden alliance is just a subjective opinion from China, not a fact.
Q: Are there any ways to improve the Sino-Japanese relationship?
A: Abe is a typical Japanese elite who is influenced by right-wing politics. According to the Constitution of Japan, there are many restrictions on sending foreign troops and defending the nation's rights. As a person influenced by right-wing politics, Abe may think these restrictions should not exist as every nation should have the right to secure its safety, so Abe wants to modify the content of the Constitution of Japan. Yet he cannot change it directly due to the controversies. The peace of Japan is a result of American’s protection and international cooperations. Therefore, his first priority is to improve the economy and start to change Japan's means of national defence and diplomacy. From Chinese government's point of view, Abe's actions are right-winged and they see it as a challenge to the stability of international situation. The Japanese government is also concerned about the rise of China and whether they should carry out some anti-containment measures to check and balance the rise of China.
The Survey
In addition, we had the chance to travel to Kyushu of Japan in February to talk to the local Japanese and visit the Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University to learn about the opinions of Abe’s Security Bill and how they view China. Our Students prepared seven questions and interviewed about 200 local Japanese.
Street Interview In Kumamoto
Street Interview In Nakasu Yatai
A majority of interviewees thought that Japan was an active participant in keeping world peace and one-fifth of them saw Japan as a mediator. On the other hand, almost same number of interviewees agreed that Japan was US partner and had other opinions, such as neutral or not sure.
Results of the Survey at Japan
According to our survey results, most of the interviewees determined China as their trading partner, followed by friends. Only a few held negative views such as China being a giant.
Nearly 3/4 of interviewees believed that the Senkaku Island/ Diaoyu Island belongs to Japan, while the remaining were mostly neutral. A majority of them made their judgment based on historical fact and media’s view.
Half of the interviewees held no opinion on Abe's visits to the Yasukuni Jinjia. In the other half, interviewees mostly supported Abe.
Whether to support Abe security bill or not, nearly half of the interviewees stayed neutral. The remaining number of supporting and opposing interviewees was at the ratio of nearly 1:1.
The interviewees held quite different views on Chinese citizens. Around one-fourth thought that Chinese citizens were friendly and another one-fourth stayed neutral on this issue. The majority of the remaining proportion posted negative views towards the Chinese.
More than half of the interviewees were willing to learn Chinese culture or Chinese while only a few did not. Interviewees who were neutral occupied 30%.
Survey Conclusion
In conclusion, the Japanese interviewees generally have similar opinions towards the Sino-Japanese relationships and Chinese residents. A majority of them considered China and Japan as a trading partner so we could conclude that their views on the Sino-Japanese relationships are quite neutral.
Interviewees who are interested in Chinese culture remain a high ratio although most of they are having a quite negative impression towards China and this is out of our expectation. The implementation of Abe’s security bill is controversial by looking through the opinions we received from the interview. There are mixed views on the Bill. No majority of people chose a particular option. Despite the Bill is set to protect Japanese military benefits, no absolute support from the Japanese towards the Bill is shown.
From the survey results, a trend of improving the Sino-Japanese relationship is shown. In the Second World War, China and Japan were in a hostile relationship. With increasing trade cooperations, China and Japan developed in a cooperating and friendly relationship. This is what interviewees see on the Sino-Japanese relationship, and is consistent with Professor Simon Shen's analysis.
On the other hand, the cause of some Japanese interviewees having a negative view of the Chinese is not the war history, but the Chinese's manners instead. In order to further lower the hostility between the Chinese and the Japanese, the Chinese should behave properly in Japan as a respect to Japanese culture. Japan is a country where people emphasize the importance of courtesy, so the Chinese should mind their courtesy and manners when interacting with the Japanese. The opinions on the Chinese being ‘rude’ never indicate that the blame is on them. The survey results just show that for a relationship between countries to improve, people from both countries need to take a step forward. Like the people of Nagasaki, we believe that lasting peace is the aspirations of all humanity.