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July 7, 2005

Expansion of Anti-Japan Sentiments Indicates Contradictionin China’s Market Economy
By WATANABE Toshio
A phenomenon I had long feared has finally broken loose. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing andConsulate in Shanghai were intimidated by stone-throwing Chinese mobs. With all likelihood,such anti-Japan demonstrations will spread from the coastal cities to the Northeastern regions
and further inland.
The security authorities have shown no signs of suppressing the rioting mob, which leads us toconclude that the Party condones and tacitly approves such acts.
This was apparent during the Japan-China Foreign Ministers’meeting that took place on April 17,
when Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing refused to admit to responsibility and instead
persisted in faulting the Japanese government for having offended the Chinese people. Quite
obviously, China intends to use the anti-Japan demonstrations in its pursuit of hard-line
diplomacy as a means for extracting a compromise out of Japan.
Today’s anti-Japan movement has its origins in the Patriotic Education campaign heralded by theJiang Zhemin administration in 1994. In an attempt to create a nationalistic climate, adetermined effort was made to firmly establish anti-Japanese education, and bases for patriotic
education, such as the Memorial Hall of the Chinese People’s War Resistance Against Japanese
Aggression near Lugouqiao Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge), were constructed nationwide to spur
animosity towards Japan.
It was nothing more than a strategy concocted by Jiang Zhemin to reinforce his political base tocover his lack of authority and connections in comparison with Deng Xiaoping. The latest
incident is an indication that this anti-Japan strategy has reached the grassroots of the Chinesepeople.
Here, we must question what caused the anti-Japan movement to manifest itself. China’s moveto a market-oriented economy accelerated since 1992, generating winners on the one hand, while
breeding a vast colony of losers. Among its 240 million city workers, 30 million are estimated to
be unemployed, and another 100 million-plus continues to migrate from inland farming villages

1into the coastal cities. The frustration of the socially discontent had reached a critical point.
For the discontented, anti-Japan movement serves as an outlet for venting their frustration.
Victory over Japanese aggression is the most important rationale in appealing the legitimacy ofCommunist rule, and patriotism is synonymous with anti-Japan sentiments. Suppressing people
who uphold “patriotism should not be punished” as their slogan would be tantamount to denying
the legitimacy of the Party itself.
Political exploitation of anti-Japan sentiments belies the fragile state of the current Chinese
government. The anti-Japan brand of nationalism is a convenient theme for recovering aunifying force in a China that wavers in the process of its transition to a market-based economy.
In stark contrast, the anti-Japan “card” was never used during the times of Deng Xiaoping, whoboasted a strong political base.
Nevertheless, one cannot exclude the risk that the arrows of anti-Japan sentiment released by thefrustrated losers of China’s market economy could change direction and start flying against thecurrent government, which stands on fragile footing. Even as political relations become frigid,
Japan’s trade surplus with China grows and Japanese companies have been making inroads into
China at a considerable pace. While the current atmosphere could be described as “politicallycool, but economically hot,” there is no guarantee the situation will become both politically andeconomically “cool.” For Japanese corporations, business development in China is obviously
related to politics. The latest round of anti-Japan riots should teach us a lesson on judging thepolitical risks involved when doing business in China.
Who will end up paying for the contradiction inherent in a “socialist market economy”? Today,
China has become an engine of global economic growth. Its handling of the latest incidents willserve as a litmus test that will reveal whether China is genuinely pursuing a market economy.
The idea of an East Asian Community centered on Japan, China and South Korea is most likely
an illusion. Any “community” -- as long as it calls itself that -- must be able to paint a brightenough outlook on the future path towards sharing political and security frameworks, as well as
value systems and social principles among many countries. The latest anti-Japan riots and theresponse of the Chinese government have dramatically demonstrated the difficulties involved
when two major countries seek to inhabit the same “community.”(This is the text of an article by Dr. WATANABE Toshio, President of Takushoku
University and Member of the Council on East Asian Community, which originallyappeared in the “Ronten” column of the “Yomiuri Shimbun” on April 20, 2005 and wastranslated into English by the English-Speaking Union of Japan to be posted in its“JITOW (Japan in Their Own Words)” column on its website on June 3, 2005.)

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