History Behind the News: Japan-China Relations

The meeting between Abe and Xi last week in Beijing has been reported differently in Japan and China, but it was recognizedas a "cold" encounter.

 

For many decades, Japan has managed its foreign relations (especially with China) under a policy of "seikei bunri" (separation of politics and economics). Recently, several political issues have disrupted Japan's relationship with China, however. The "hot" issues of dispute between the governments at Beijing and Tokyo are fueled by nationalist sentiments among citizens, and draw on a long and bitter history.

THE KEY ISSUES and BRIEF HISTORIES:

Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands

These uninhabited islands have become important because they lie near potential oil and gas reserves. Although the current intensity of the dispute is new, the history goes back over a hundred years.

Japanese claims to the islands go back to 1895, when Japan was expanding as an empire.

After WWII, along with Okinawa, the islands were under US trusteeship, and were returned to Japan (along with Okinawa) in 1971.

However, China argues that the islands have been part of Chinese territory since ancient times, and should have been returned when Taiwan was (after WWII, however, Taiwan also claims the islands separately).

2012: Right-wing Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara threatened to use public funds to buy the islands for Japan. The Japanese government stepped in to buy them to prevent Ishihara's more dangerous idea. 

However, this still provoked the Chinese government to read this as an aggressive move, and has led to the intense conflicts over the islands now.

Yasukuni Shrine

Every time a Japanese politician -- particularly a prime minister -- visits Yasukuni Shrine, it causes political conflict with China (and also Taiwan, South Korea, and North Korea).

Although Yasukuni Shrine was founded by the Meiji Emperor in the late 19th century to honor all those who died for the emperors since the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the link between WWII and Yasukuni is what provokes the most conflict.

Many different kinds of "war dead"are enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine, but the fact that Class-A war criminals fromthe Fifteen-Year War are included brings to mind the war crimes committed inthe name of the Japanese Empire in the 20th century.

Certainly, it is politically useful to have anti-Japanese sentiment in China. The Chinese government can focus popular anger on the wartime history with Japan, and avoid criticism of its own wrongdoing. However, this can also backfire.

Nevertheless, the Chinese government is responding to what is often real pain and anger. 

It is true that, unlike in postwar Germany, young people in Japan now learn very little about Japan's imperial history in school.

Without knowing the history, how can young Japanese people work through Japan's position in East Asian politics? How can they work out their own opinions on the past?

A particularly contested event between China and Japan is the Nanking Massacre, also sometimes referred to as the "Rape of Nanking." On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army captured Nanking, the capital of China at the time. Most likely exaggerated claims exist on both sides, and numbers of estimated dead vary. The most extreme claim (by a vocal minority) is that the Nanking Massacre never happened. However, based on survivors' and military veterans' accounts, and estimates made at the International Military Tribunal of the Far East in 1948, historians think around 200,000 people may have died. This was not a battle, and most who died were not soldiers. Many were women and children, many were killed in painful ways, and thousands of women were raped, often by gangs of soldiers.

One witness was a German businessman, John Rabe, who lived in Nanking and was protected by his status as a member of the Nazi party. He created a Safety Zone to protect Chinese people from the Japanese military.

The intense violence of the Japanese military occupation of Nanking needs to be discussed as a part of not only Japanese but also East Asian history. Japanese imperialism and militarism depended on certain attitudes toward non-Japanese Asians.

How much did you learn about this history in school? How do you think you can understanding this history can help relations between Japan and China?

History Behind the News: Wikileaks and Co.

Last week we talked about Wikileaks, since we've all brought in news stories that are connected to issues about freedom of information and state security or personal privacy.

In discussing Wikileaks, we noted the key issues that have arisen in the United States around Wikileaks disclosures. Namely:

- Conduct of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Treatment of those held at Guantanamo
- The National Security Agency

Japan has also had important disclosures via Wikileaks. Most recently, in January 2014, Wikileaks published documents about the secret negotiations surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Another key disclosure was about the Japanese government withholding correct information about U.S. military bases in Japan. Also, one can find on Wikileaks how the number of trafficked persons in Japan has been under-reported and under-investigated.

An article that helped us understand the history behind Wikileaks was this one. It describes "three stages" of Wikileaks development:

2006 (Wikileaks birth as a "whistleblower site") to 2010:

Wikileaks served as a true "wiki," in which public readership posted and edited materials. It became controversial when censored websites were also included.

April 2010 to November 2010:

Wikileaks took a political position in releasing "Collateral Murder" video in April 2010. In July of that year it released the Afghan War Diary and in October the Iraq War Logs (the largest leak of U.S. military secrets in history).

From November 2010:

Wikileaks has worked with major news sources to analyze, redact, publish U.S. State diplomatic cables.

The social value of Wikileaks is hotly debated. We have also discussed the State Secrets Law in Japan, and the potential social value / danger of "whistleblowing." What do you think? Does the existence of a website like Wikileaks produce more positive or negative effects? How do you think it is best to operate such a site?

People Behind the News: Yasuomi SAWA

In class we had the great fortune to welcome Yasuomi SAWA, a journalist with the Kyodo News, who spoke with us about his personal experiences.

Mr. Sawa gave us insight into his own journey to becoming a newsperson, his transformation into an international journalist, and his motivations.

Although we've been discussing many high-profile events, Mr. Sawa was able to give us an intimate look into how the news is reported in Japan and abroad. I hope many of us will continue to follow Mr. Sawa on Twitter, and apply his insights when we read the news.

In particular, I appreciated how Mr. Sawa shared with us the latest story he's been following about part-time workers at an izakaya chain. The story opens up larger issues about labor rights in Japan, and also provided an example of how journalists can be "voices for the voiceless."

I'm eager to hear your reactions to Mr. Sawa's presentation. What information surprised you, and what left an impression on you? Please feel free to include any other questions you have for Mr. Sawa.

History Behind the News: ISIS

In class we distinguished many elements that currently define the issues around the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Some key aspects of the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria include:

1. The overlay of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and national identifications in the region (keeping in mind that these affiliations and the meanings of them change over time).

2. The history of the borders in the region.

3. The recent history of Shia-Sunni conflict in the region.

4. The history of U.S. and other foreign involvement in the region, and what kind of involvement we think would be helpful or harmful from here on out.

Knowing more about these four points do not tell us the future of ISIS, but help us evaluate the various news we read about the group.

1. The overlay of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and national identifications in the region (keeping in mind that these affiliations and the meanings of them change over time).

Ethnicity: Here is a map made by Dr. Michael Izady of Columbia University. (More of his maps can be found at Gulf/2000). In Japan, there is a strong ideological link made between ethnicity and nation. However, this is not necessarily the case in the Middle East (nor necessarily in Japan! We can discuss this more in class). As we can see in the map below, most nations in the region known as the Middle East have majority Arabic populations. Note also that Turkey is majority Turkish and Iran is majority Persian. However, also note the deep red that indicates Kurdish population that forms a significant ethnic group across the region and does not have its own nation. Also note the general ethnic diversity of the northern area. Shared language, culture, and shared history (real or idealized) define these ethnic groups.



However, there are many various dialects of Arabic. This map shows the linguistic diversity of the Arab-speaking world. Note that many linguistic communities cross national borders.




Religion: Another map by Dr. Izady shows us the branches and denominations of Islam worldwide. We should note here the close contact that Sunni and Shia Muslims have in the Middle East (a point I will return to in detail). Note also that Muslim is certainly a religion with a global presence, a variety of branches and denominations, and a variety of cultures. Although the Islamic State advocates violence, it does not represent all Muslims. This is a point that many diaspora Muslim communities are trying to communicate, as they face discrimination.








 All these maps show how a variety of possible identities -- ethnic, linguistic, religious -- across borders exist in the region in which ISIS has emerged.

2. The history of the borders in the region.

Here are some excellent historical maps that show the deep history of changes in the Middle East.

Here is also a video that shows the long history of shifting control over the region we call the Middle East. Note how recent the current borders are, and how European colonialism entered the region as recently as a century ago in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The recent emergence of ISIS as a transnational group exposes the fragility of these contemporary borders.

3. The recent history of Shia-Sunni conflict in the region.

Although, as the maps above illustrate, there are many diverse communities in the region, perhaps no single factor is as important to understand the emergence of ISIS as the recent conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iraq. This is also related to the broader politics of the region, as we discussed in class.

The Shia-Sunni split goes back to early Islamic history and disputes over the succession to Muhammad in 643 C.E. However, this old theological division has not always meant conflict. The contemporary sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims can be described as a modern one, with a specific recent history.

In class, we discussed many of the key historical events of the past 35 years since the Iranian Revolution. This website includes those events and more explanations about how political rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia (backing Shias and Sunnis in other countries, respectively) influence the current conflicts in the Middle East.

Key events include not only the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 1998, but also the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

In particular, ISIS must be understood as a development linked to events in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

This interview with Fanar Haddad, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute, describes how a Sunni identity developed in post-2003 Iraq. He emphasizes the feeling among many Sunnis of being victims of the Shia majority:

"Now you've got quite a strong sense of Sunni identity, one that has been anchored in a sense of victimhood. Perceptions regarding demographics play a role; as I said, they see themselves as being cheated into minority status. And yeah, victim identity at the hands of an overbearing, dictatorial Shia state — that's a very powerful feeling. It's got transnational echoes, which have helped accentuate this feeling of Sunni victimhood and identity."

As this map shows, Shia and Sunni communities also cross borders. As we discussed in class, ISIS identifies as Sunni Muslim, although not all the Sunnis even under ISIS-controlled areas sympathize with their version of Sunni Muslim.










 Of course, these events did not occur in a vacuum, as many mentions of the U.S., Iraq, and Saudi Arabia already suggest.

4. The history of U.S. and other foreign involvement in the region, and what kind of involvement we think would be helpful or harmful from here on out.

As we discussed in class, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 created a Shia-led Islamic republic in Iran. This disturbed Sunni rulers in countries, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, that had large Shia populations. This sets the stage for Saudi involvement in the region on behalf of Sunni groups.

Among these Sunni groups were Islamist rebels in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Because they fought a communist government there (and the USSR had invaded on that government's behalf), the rebels also got support (money and weapons) from the United States. Among the rebels is a young Saudi named Osama bin Laden.

In 1991, during the first Gulf War, the U.S. drives Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. This gives Shia Muslims in Iraq, who feel repressed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led government, hope that the U.S. will support them. Shia demonstrations and riots are brutally crushed, breeding more resentment against Sunni Muslims in Iraq.

After the Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the U.S. invades Afghanistan to pursue Al-Qaeda (and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden). Based on rumors about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the U.S. also toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. This ushers in a period of Shia rule, during which Sunni Muslims are repressed and dissatisfied.

This last process of Sunni dissatisfation with the new Iraqi state, is described well by Fanar Haddad.

This brings me to my questions for you about these issues. Although a great deal of debate is about if the United States should intervene, and how, what kind of role do you think Japan should play in this issue? To review the various opinions about the U.S.'s (and, in the case of these sources, mostly Obama's) role regarding ISIS, you can find the link to the political cartoons we looked at last week on this teaching website.