Dr. Masayo Goto

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The Japanese invasion and occupation of China (193745): the “Rape” of Nanjing, Dec 1937 & other atrocities
Between December 1937 and March 1938, Japanese troops
captured the Chinese city of Nanjing and embarked on a
campaign of murder, rape and looting. Between 250,000
and 300,000 people were killed, many of them women andchildren. The number of women raped was 20,000.
Yet many Japanese officials and historians deny there was amassacre on such a scale. They admit that deaths and rapes didoccur, but say they were on a much smaller scale than reported.
They argue these things happen in times of war.

2. Residual anti-Japanese sentiment

The Yasukuni Shrine
Dedicated to those who lost their lives in the name ofthe Emperor (the spirits of over 2.5 million people,including several class ‘A’ war criminals. Japanese Prime
Ministers visit the Yasakuni Shrine ⇒ Miki Takoe in1975, Nakasone in 1985 and Koizumi in 2001-2007
Textbook controversy
Tried to change a phrase that said “Japan invaded
Northern China” to have it read “Japan advanced...”instead. ⇒ China protected this attempted censorship.
There is no mention of the Rape of Nanking
3. Residual Japanese militarism

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Japan – part of the US containment of PRC.
The “Nixon shock”
Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Visited China in 1972
Japan’s provision of ODA for infrastructural projects.
Not well received by China for fear of Japanese
domination; a reminder of the “Greater Asia Coprosperity Sphere”
Beijing’s preference for bilateral economic relations;Japan became China’s top trading partner in 1985, withbilateral trade totalling US$16.4 billion.
Further Japanese loans; joint ventures, etc.

“Greater Asia Co-prosperity Sphere”
The Sphere was initiated by Prime Minister Konoe in
an attempt to create a Great East Asia, comprising
Japan, Manchukuo, China, and parts of Southeast Asia.
This was to establish a new international orderseeking ‘co prosperity’ for Asian countries which would
share prosperity and peace, free from Westerncolonialism and domination. Although Japan
succeeded in stimulating anti-Westernism in Asia, thesphere never materialized into a unified Asia.

China for fear of Japanese domination ⇒Memory of “Greater Asia Co-prosperity Sphere”

“Japan’s provision of ODA for infrastructural projects”
Japan decided to provide aid to China in the late 1970s as aresult of the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations. InAugust 1978, they signed a peace and friendship treaty.
Bilateral trade began to gradually grow from that point.
Japan's ODA for China comprises three parts: long-term yen
loans, free grants and technical assistance. The bulk of theprogramme's funds are yen loans. From 1979 to April 2004,
Japan extended 2.95 trillion yen (US$28.9 billion) ingovernment loans to China.

ODA projects in China included large-scale economic
infrastructure projects, including the building of roads, airports
and power stations, as well as infrastructure projects in medicaland environmental areas. These projects have played asignificant role in the realization of China's current economic
growth.
* Japan has twice suspended ODA to China: in 1989 following theTiananmen incident; and in 1995, in response to China’s decision
to continue nuclear testing.

Chinese comments on Japan's ODA
Premier Zhu Rongji said in November 1998, "China expresses its
gratitude for economic cooperation provided to China by Japan."In 2000, "Japan's ODA has been a major help in the developmentof the Chinese economy and the construction of the Chinese state.
It has also contributed substantially to the promotion of economic
relations between the two countries." Later, Minister of Finance
Huaicheng remarked, "Economic friendship and cooperation
between China and Japan have supported the economic
development of China, improved its investment environment,
raised living standards of the people and actively contributed tothe development of its human resources.“
However the ODA failed to win the Chinese people's trust
and promote favorable feelings towards Japan.

1. Revisions of Japanese textbooks
2. Japanese officials visits to the Yasukuni shrine
3. China’s trade deficit with Japan

Surges in Chinese imports of Japanese goods,
through various means and channels of trade, led
China to accumulate serious trade deficits
4. China complained about Japan reluctance toengage in direct investment and technology
transfers.
5. China’s “victim” mentality on the one hand andJapan’s insensitivity on the other.

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PM Kaifu visited China in August 1991President Jiang Zemin’s return visit in April 1992
Emperor Akihito’s visit to China in Oct 1992
Premier Zhu Rongji visit to Japan in Feb 1994
In 1993, China became leading recipient of Japan’s
ODA and the second largest trading partner of Japan
Japan became China’s largest trading partner until
replaced by the US some years later.
Japan supported China at APEC and GATT.

International Monetary Fund figures show Japan's
GDP per capita purchasing power parity was $34,100 in2008 - 24th in the world - while China's was only
$5,962 - 99th in the world.
2. China is still far behind Japan in environmental
protection
3. Science and technology contribute up to 70 percent ofJapanese economic growth, while China's proportionis only 39 percent.
4. Japan is still far ahead of China in energy efficiency
and resource utilization.
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It is difficult to say how many years China will take tocatch up with Japan's overall development.

China is Japan’s fourth-largest export market (second if
HK is included) and second largest source of imports toJapan.
2. Japan is China’s major source of imports and China’ssecond most important export market. Japan’s FDI ispouring into China, with Shanghai as a key destination.
3. Japan’s trade with China surpassed Japan’s trade withthe US
4. The Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit : The firstsummit was held in 2008 in Fukuoka as an event
independent from the various ASEAN Summit
Meetings. At the Summit, discussions focusing on theprogress and prospects of trilateral cooperation and theregional and international situation were held. The
second Summit is held in October 2009 in China.
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5. Sino-Japanese relations went through a fiver-year
impasse over former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi's
repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
6. Prime Minister Abe visited China in 2006 ("icebreaking" visit to China)
7. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council in 2007
8. Prime Minister Fukuda visited China in 2007
9. President Hu Jintao visited Japan in 2008 (He metEmperor Akihito)
Chinese president meets Japanese emperor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNxOTRPMb4c&feature=related

10. A “mutually beneficial relationshipbased on common strategic interests” (In2008, A joint statement)
Background: China-Japan relations evolve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoEN-4S9DjA&feature=related
China and Japan seek closer ties - May 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ocpgO98o5c
Key points of China-Japan joint statement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lxUpn0kkGw

On 10 October 2009, Prime Minister Hatoyama
visited China for the firs time for the second
trilateral leaders' meeting of China, Japan and theRepublic of Korea, and for promoting a "Mutually
Beneficial Relationship Based on Common
Strategic Interests".

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 10, 2009.

Wen noted that they should continuously increase strategic efforts
and comprehensively boost cooperation in the principle of thefour political documents between China and Japan, so as to further
enhance their relations and achieve the goals of peacefulcoexistence, friendship for generations, reciprocal cooperation andcommon development between the two countries.
Under a China-Japan principled consensus on the East China Sea
issue, reached in June, 2008, both China and Japan will, throughjoint exploration, select by mutual agreement areas for joint
development in the block mentioned by the consensus under theprinciple of mutual benefit.

Hatoyama has emphasized his desire to assuage sensitivities overJapan’s history of invasion and occupation in China before andduring World War II. He has the "courage to face up to history.“
Leaders of China, Japan, South Korea discussed North Korea
nuclear issue. North Korea should not be given aid until it begins
to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama
and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak pledged in a jointstatement to “work closely together through strengthened
dialogue” to push through a new global climate accord, which ismeant to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

President Hu said he hopes the three countries to facilitate east
Asian cooperation and jointly respond to regional hot issues andglobal challenges to unveil a new chapter for peace, cooperation anddevelopment of east Asia.

Lee Myung-bak said the three countries had made great
achievements in expanding cooperation in the past ten years.
"China's economy is now stabilizing and turning for the better,
which plays a positive role in promoting economic recovery of theROK and Japan“Hatoyama told Hu the Japanese government would like to cooperate
closely with China to boost bilateral ties in a spirit of drawing
lessons from history and facing up to the future. He also expressedsatisfaction over the progress of trilateral cooperation, calling on thethree sides to respect each other and share successful experience topromote greater achievement of trilateral cooperation.

1. China’s great power aspirations
2. Japan’s involvement in the US defence andstrategic arrangements in the Asia-Pacificregion
3. Japan’s cooperation in a US regional
theatre missile defence system that would
include Taiwan
4. Japan’s ambivalent position on Taiwan
5. Dispute over the Diaoyutai (in Chinese), orthe Senkaku Island (in Japanese)6. Japan’s potential to build nuclear weapons
7. The rearming of Japan and Constitutionalchange8. Japan’s reluctance to come to terms with its
aggression in Asia in the recent past
9. Refusal to apologise for the war in China
10. Textbooks and PM’s visits to the Yasukuni
Shrine11. Occasional statements by Ministers
offensive to Chinese and other Asiansensitivities.

1. Japan’s fear of an ambitious China seeking todominate the region, politically, militarily andeconomically.
2. China’s fear of a remilitarised Japan, whose socalled Self Defence Force is already aformidable force.
3. China’s fear of Japan’s domination of any
Pacific economic community that may beformed; Beijing prefers the “double enginepattern” to Japan’s “flying geese pattern.”1. More optimism than pessimism; continued
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economic cooperation to be expected
Rivals nevertheless, as both aspire to increase theirspheres of influences, and both have complicatedrelationships with the US.
China’s growing industries are bound to competewith Japans worldwide.
They may often cooperate while pursuing theirindividual national interest; and will try tominimise any conflict that may arise
The future trend of Sino-Japanese relations islikely to be one of tensions in the political-militarysphere accompanied by attempts to maximise thepotential of closer economic ties.