nihon no kokoro

[number9 0]

I think you'll enjoy this site, if you don't already use it.

http://www.crisscross.com/jp/

 

Japanese education is notoriously communist/left wing, and teachers definitely have an influence in shaping the youths minds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Teachers_Union

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/JTU

To characterize the entire nation as being "extreme right" is way too simplistic.

 

It's also interesting that many Westerners abhor what China is doing in Tibet (as well as Inner Mongolia and East Turkestan if they're aware of them) and don't believe official Chinese version of events and facts. But when it comes to Japan issues, suddenly the Chinese Communist Party is a very reliable and credible source of information. I find that very strange. You can't have it both ways.

 

The situation in East Asia is a lot more complex than many outsiders are lead to believe. Obviously Japan's in the wrong in many ways, but so are the Koreas and China.

[daver 0]

every nation has its faults. i am the first to admit that. (and usually the first to jump on them)

but that being said, i don't live in china, and i don't live in korea, and the issue isn't about those two countries, it is about a trend occurring in this country. i am only critical of this country because i love it. if i did not, i would simply shrug the stuff off as i counted down the days to my departure. but i don't shrug it off because i live here and plan to continue doing so.

as for the extreme right, i never said that that characterized the sentiments of the national politic, i just think that it is a situation that is taking place in the current administration. and well, much of the world it would seem of late.

i am curious as to what you mean by a communist slanted education system. i will admit, i have not read your link, but my experience has not demonstrated this. but then again i haven't given much thought to the polictical slant of the education system here. i just usually curse it.

[snobee 0]

#9 - Notoriously communist/leftwing is a bit loaded.

Perhaps leftleaning would be less emotive?

 

I'd imagine if their (teachers) strong shaping of fertile minds was so successful, then Japanese society would be a veritable hive of political activity and discourse.

 

In fact the apathy is mind numbing.

 

Stir the pot I say. The bigger the spoon the better.

[number9 0]

Political apathy seems to hit every wealthy nation, just look at the voter turnouts around the OECD.

 

Yeah JTU's leftleaning on the whole with some extremists mixed in. Anyways, there aren't too many countries in the world where raising the national flag and playing the nationa anthem would be met with such negativity from teachers and schools.

[Fattwins 0]

It doesnt help when Kozumi likes to stir the pot and piss the Chinese off.

[number9 0]

daver, you brought up Germany even though you objected to me bringing up China and the Koreas, that seems odd if you just want to discuss Japan without referring to other nations.

 

Anyways, Japan, China, and the Koreas need to agree on a common history, like it's done in Europe. Long way to go though, unfortunately..

 

But regarding common history and reparations, Japan shouldn't give into every demand by China and the Koreas as they have their own agendas too. I'm not even sure what would constitute as an "acceptable apology" to those nations, seeing that Japanese officials and heads of state have done it 19 times already.

[bushpig 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by number9:
But regarding common history and reparations, Japan shouldn't give into every demand by China and the Koreas as they have their own agendas too. I'm not even sure what would constitute as an "acceptable apology" to those nations, seeing that Japanese officials and heads of state have done it 19 times already.

I agree on that Number 9, the whole apology thing is a very muddy issue, and the other countires certainly do have their own agendas when it comes to this.

[Fattwins 0]

Going to that right wing shrine sure doesnt help

[bushpig 0]

no it doesn't FT, but China chose to ignore that for a couple of decades and only became very vocal about it more recently once they were looking to score political points in the struggle for the top spot of Asia. Don't get me wrong, I think Koizumi and co should be shot for going there when they know it is sucha sensitive issue, but that doesn't mean the other countries aren't using the issue for political points.

[Fattwins 0]

Tehy werent going there every year I think Hashimoto re-started that didnt he?

[bushpig 0]

perhaps, but I have heard it argued in quite a few places that China has become very vocal on the whole apology issue moreso since emerging as a power in Asia. Rightfully so, maybe, I don't know. But A certain amount of it is likely to be for political points.

[daver 0]

i certainly agree that there are ulterior motives with neighbouring nations. but i don't think that the apology thing is really the issue. i think it is the fact that the current administration (and many others. have you ever talked to people about the shrine visits? more often then not i get the, "they are dead so obsolved of their sins" response)would like to pretend that the war time crimes never occured. if you remember the issue last year with china was not the shrine visits but textbooks that washed over the whole event.

[number9 0]

There was a lot more going on behind the anti-Japan riots than just history textbooks. Again, reality is much more complicated than how the media portrays it in easy soundbites. It's almost impossible to organize large scale protests in the authoritarian PRC to begin with, hmm..

 

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The official PRC attitude towards the demonstrations is considered by foreign observers as enigmatic. On the one hand, the government allowed the demonstrations to occur in the first place. While the PRC policed the protests, some observers believe that measures to rein in the violence and property damage were deliberately ineffective. However, the PRC has only indirectly reported the current protests in state-owned media, withholding coverage from a national audience. State-owned media in the PRC nevertheless carried extensive coverage of anti-Japanese demonstrations in South Korea, as well as distant but related events, such as the European commemoration of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Internet censorship has been extended to subjects related to the protests. Many universities prohibited students from coming onto or leaving the campus. Mass transit systems in close proximity to protest rally points were shut down. However, this policy was contradicted in several cities, including Beijing, where city buses were used by the municipal authorities to ferry students into the protests. Students at Tsinghua and Peking Universities also reported receiving phone calls from university authorities encouraging them to demonstrate. In the second half of April 2005, the People's Daily published several articles to calm down the protestors, and the Ministry of Public Security declared that "unauthorized marches were illegal". [3]

 

Interestingly enough, the PRC had never previously protested so violently against Japan in 60 years since World War II, and hundreds of textbook revisions through the years, but Japan and the United States had issued a joint declaration earlier in the year stating Japan would defend Taiwan by US request if a war were to break out over Taiwan.

 

PRC police tactics are perceived to be similar to those utilized when demonstrations were held outside the American embassy in Beijing after NATO forces accidentally bombed the PRC embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in May 1999.

 

The slogan "patriotism is not a sin" (爱国无罪 àiguó wúzuì: literally translated, "it is not a crime to be patriotic") is popular, albeit in a sarcastic sense, among the PRC protesters. This slogan is used to describe a justification of violence against Japanese individuals, on the basis of reciprocating Japanese atrocities in China during the Second World War. For mainstream Japanese, it only goes to reinforce the notion that PRC's mentality today mirrors Japan's stupidities of extreme militarism and nationalism in World War II that lead Japan down a dark path, and to shatter their belief that they can forever stay on the sidelines and embrace pacifism.

 

Political observers on the US National Public Radio have argued that the controversy is being allowed by the PRC government partly in order to further a multitude of political goals. [4] American news outlets CNN and Time Magazine have also pointed out that historical inaccuracies are not limited to Japanese textbooks, but that Chinese government-made textbooks are equally rife with omissions and non-neutral point of view. [5] Cases of questioned text include the Great Leap Forward which caused 30 million Chinese deaths ("the People suffered major losses"), China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam, the Cultural Revolution ("lots of appalling events happened") and the Tiananmen Square "Incident" of 1989, in which thousands of protesters may have been killed. Tibet is a subject given scant mention except by foreign press, [6] and Xinjiang remains detached from the ongoing controversy.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Japanese_demonstrations%2C_2005

[69 5]

If a Japanese kid does a search on the internet about this issue, I wonder what results would show up and where the balance would be there. Anyone know? (My Japanese is not good enough)

[number9 0]

There's a pretty solid debate going on about the anti-Japanese riots entry in the Japanese wikipedia. Japanese people have multiple view points and are capable of holding debates as well.

http://tinyurl.com/rbc3b

Unfortunately, 2ch is full of idiots with kneejerk reactions and anti-Chinese sentiments. Not that dissimilar in tone with Japantoday.com

 

Historically Asahi and Mainichi news groups have been rather sympathetic to China on many issues, being leftleaning entities that they are. But things change and populist Yomiuri is actually speaking up against the Yasukuni visits as well (read in a news item recently that Watanabe Tsuneo, head of Yomiuri, of all people made the change of direction on this issue).

[daver 0]

Number 9

i agree with you regarding the text book demonstrations. these were certainly more about china's police force demonstrating its ability to control a large crowd then they were about anti japanese sentiments. but like i have said before, this is not the central issue of this disscusion. it is not worth debating the whether of not china and korea have a right to feel animosity towards japan, because the answer is simple. yes they do. just as japan has plenty of reason to feel animosity to its neighbours.

 

but the debate is about the rising trend of japanese nationalism so please stop attempting to detract from the real issue at hand.

 

if the japanese people are indeed as you say a nation of open minded, progressive, politicaly charged individuals, which i truly want to believe, and not a nation of apathetic voters that pay no heed to the consequences of their ballot, and play no part in the democratic process after election time, then why is it that they allow the current situation to progress. why has the same party had a near perfect reign of power since the conception of the modern government? why is it ok for their leaders to visit a shrine that house 14 class A war criminals? why is it ok to have a foriegn minister that is one step away from calling japan the master race? why does the city of tokyo elect a flagrat facist as its mayor? why do the courst throw out claims of racism filed by foreigners on account of them not fully understanding japanese? why is it ok for history text books to completely white wash japan's war time actions? why has the government refused to acknowledge the existance korean sex slaves during the war? why has a comic book that glorifies the war actions sold out for its 5th publication? why does the parliment want to change the constitution to limit the rights of women?

 

why don't the japanese people take notice of these things? why don't they put their political representives in check?

[number9 0]

 Quote:

but the debate is about the rising trend of japanese nationalism so please stop attempting to detract from the real issue at hand.

Hey, you brought Germany into this too

 Quote:

if the japanese people are indeed as you say a nation of open minded, progressive, politicaly charged individuals,

They're not. Japan is a developed country with accordingly politically apathetic citizens. Just look at the voter turnouts in developed countries around the world. Many Japanese do have stronger group mentalities which can lead to sheeplike tendencies, but at the same time many Westerners seem to get preachier about their pet cause. Not sure which is better, really.

 Quote:

why has the same party had a near perfect reign of power since the conception of the modern government?

It's not really a democracy is it? Various factions within the LDP should form separate parties if they're truly opposed to eachother. But instead it's the backroom dealings between the powers that settles things. Japan's never been truly democratic, more like a socialist regime wearing a democratic coat.

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why is it ok for their leaders to visit a shrine that house 14 class A war criminals?

Separating the shrines is the best idea, but at the same time many people find that the Tokyo Tribunals was victor's justice. Ever looked into it?

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why is it ok to have a foriegn minister that is one step away from calling japan the master race?

What quote is this? Could you please supply the source.

 Quote:

why does the city of tokyo elect a flagrat facist as its mayor?

Certainly not for his fascist tendencies, that was not the main items on his platform. Problem with fascists, they tend to be efficient at running organizations..

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why do the courst throw out claims of racism filed by foreigners on account of them not fully understanding japanese?

If there were witnesses that wouldn't have been thrown out. It was his word against the owner's word. Though all the circumstantial evidence was pointing towards the owner being guilty.

 Quote:

why is it ok for history text books to completely white wash japan's war time actions?

Which textbooks exactly and how exactly are they whitewashed? Please look into the details of this case. That textbook will never be used by even 1% of Japanese schools, let alone the majority.

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why has the government refused to acknowledge the existance korean sex slaves during the war?

This was already included when Japan and Korea normalized relations.

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why has a comic book that glorifies the war actions sold out for its 5th publication?

How come I'm not aware of such a popular comic book, what's the title?

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why does the parliment want to change the constitution to limit the rights of women?

Damn fascists. Misplaced fear of negative birthrate.

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why don't the japanese people take notice of these things? why don't they put their political representives in check?

Would you like to become Japanese to propel these changes?

[daver 0]

Taro Aso, “one nation, one civilization, one language, one culture and one race. There is no other nation (that has such characteristics).”

 

Not only does this do disservice to Japanese history and culture, it utter falacy.

 

Comic books are called "Hate Korea: A Comic" and "Introduction to China" The Korea book has gone through five reprints and sold more than 320,000 copies since its release in September. The China book has sold 180,000 copies since its appearance in August.

 

The comics build on a genre established by comic artist Yoshinori Kobayashi in the 1990s. His "Manifesto of new pride" series of comics -- which claim Japan waged a noble war to liberate Asia from a racist world order -- have sold over a million copies.

 

 

Thank you very much for your contributions. Your insite on Japan is nuch more thorough than mine. Would I like to become Japanese? Not if it meant I would have to stay late and work 27hrs a day with only one weekend a year.

[number9 0]

If you're somewhat interested in this kind of stuff, I suggest looking into modern East Asian history, and make sure to have multiple viewpoints covered because all information and recorded history is biased (just human nature, really) and the truth lies somewhere inbetween all that information, misinformation, and disinformation. It's quite fascinating from European colonialism to the world wars and will give you a good background on many issues in this region.