Japan and China: How Different They Are! by KASE Hideaki and Seki Hei(Summary)
A prevailing notion by Sinologists, both in the West and Japan, is that as thewealth of the Chinese “middle class” rises, they will want more democracy and political
freedom—they will want to be like the middle class found elsewhere. However, thisnotion is far from correct is sustained by the flawed belief that Japan and China arehistorically and culturally the same: the Japanese and Chinese think in the same manner,
therefore, if Japan can be democratic, then democracy in China is inevitable. In fact, asMr. Kase and Mr. Sekihei point out with numerous examples, not only are Japanese andChinese cultures distinct from one another, Chinese cultural elements assimilated by
Japan were significantly altered to fit into a Japanese social context. The changes areindeed marked in the authors extensive and insightful narration of Chinese history. It will
be evident to the reader that historic Japan and China—and modern Japanese andChinese—share almost no commonalities aside from perhaps a sharing of basic forms ofkanji. (Even here, the authors point to great distinctions between Japanese and Chinese
written language.) Thus, claims that modern China “wants” democracy can be dismissed
as naïve as such claims were likely made without any consideration of Chinese history.
There are number of customs that Japan did not adapt from China—such as thebinding of women’s feet and the use of eunuchs. One way of truly appreciating thecultural and historical chasm between the two countries is to point out Japan and China’s
attitude towards food and eating. There is nothing more central to Han Chinese life thaneating. Indeed, it is so central that a common expression of joy is “Today I ate my fill”.
As far as quantity and what can be eaten, there are absolutely no restrictions. Such lack ofinhibitions on the culinary level transfers to Han Chinese attitude towards internal nonHan Chinese minorities and to neighboring countries, the Han aggressively “consuming”
ethnic groups and territories in their path. As members of the Chinese ruling class throw
lavish banquets that epitomize waste, the rest of China starves. By contrast, the Japaneseconsider eating a private affair. Rather than stress extravagance and quantity, food ismeant to be esthetically pleasing. Unlike the Chinese ruling class, the Japanesearistocracy ate simple meals, what the Chinese today would consider food for poorpeople. In fact, what was virtuous to the common Japanese people applied to theJapanese aristocracy and this was due in part to Japan’s transformation of Confucianism.
One other fundamental way that Japan differs from China is in Japan’s conceptionof Confucianism. Chinese Confucian virtues were directed towards the ruling class
rather than the common people. The “foundation” of Chinese Confucianism is “filialpiety,” stressing loyalty to one’s family above all else, demonstrated by the fact that
Chinese emperors indulged their own families and ignored the public. Filial piety also
extends to the point of denying and ignoring one’s father’s misdeeds. Despite lofty
appeals to “benevolence” and “righteousness,” such things did not apply to non-Chinese
peoples, who Confucius considered to be “barbarians”. By contrast, the Japaneseemperor and people “are one”. Japanese-style Confucianism stresses loyalty to thecommunity and the people at large rather than to one’s clan. Given the historicalemphasis on one’s family, it should not be surprising that the current Chinese Communist

Party treats all of China as its own fiefdom—there is no “People” in the “People’s
Republic of China”.
While there are those outside of China and Japan who make the mistake ofassuming similarity between China and Japan as synonymous for sameness, there aremany Japanese who have fallen for this faulty thinking as well. These Japanese havegone further to elevate Chinese—and to a certain extent Korean—culture above Japan’s,
thereby inducing a cultural “inferiority complex”. Such thinking on the part of thoseJapanese carries serious consequences, by adversely affecting Japanese views on history
and current Sino-Japanese relations.