"CEAC Commentary" introduces news analyses andopinions in Japan on topics related to regional
cooperation and integration in East Asia, but they do
not represent the views of CEAC as an institution.

December 18, 2014

Collapse of Big-Power Self-Confidence in Japan's
Diplomacy
By KATO Akira
Ever since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Japanese people had long
maintained awareness of its status as the only big power in Asia. However, as we enterthe 2010s, such awareness became a thing of the past. Not only the Chinese, of course,
but also almost all the Japanese think that China has now become a big power or aleader of Asia, superseding Japan. Besides, even the Koreans think that they haveexceeded Japan in such areas as IT technology and globalization. In China and SouthKorea, a hard-won sense of triumph over Japan seems to be quite prevalent amongpeoples. Almost all the Japanese including myself, either consciously or not, havemaintained awareness that Japan is a big power or a leader of Asia. That was the very
reason why the Japanese could afford psychologically to regard China and South Korea
as disadvantaged relative to Japan, and to show compassion for them as seen in thecase of the comfort women issue.
It is no coincidence that the issue of comfort women surfaced dramatically with a rush
during Japan's bubble era. Back in those days, a sense of national greatness among the Japanese wasat its pinnacle. It was then sincerely believed that the U.S. and Japan would sooner or later spawn abigemonic system, an era of "Amerippon." Meanwhile, China still remained a developing country,
and South Korea, who had recovered its national strength barely enough to host the Olympic Games,
was still no comparison with Japan in economic performance. Such economic predominance overChina and South Korea afforded psychological empowerment and a sense of superiority to Japan,generating a self-justifying cause among those claiming to be "conscientious Japanese" to show
compassion for the comfort women. Also, it is no coincidence that the Asahi Shimbun retracted its
false reports on the comfort women issue this year. Asahi's editorial policy that was harsh toward theJapanese government but overly committed to China and South Korea was only premised on nothing
but Japan's sense of national greatness and superiority.

Now that such premise is no longer plausible, compassion for the disadvantaged which
Asahi had long embodied has also been lost. Besides, many Japanese could no longer afford to takea benevolent attitude toward criticism from China and South Korea. The Asahi bashing is an epitome

of Japan's irritation derived from its removal from the status as a big power. Likewise, thosegathering in "Zaitokukai," a citizen group advocating exclusionist nationalism in Japan, would keepup vociferous hate speech precisely because they are frustrated by the feeling that Japanese are moredisadvantaged and inferior even to the disadvantaged Chinese and South Korean. Japan is no longer
a big power or a leader of Asia. The question of how to accept this status quo has no easy answer.
The Abe administration and LDP (the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan) are beefing up efforts tostrengthen its economic and military power with an aim to regain a "strong Japan."But, there is no way whatsoever for Japan to overwhelm China in terms of hard powersuch as economy and military. So-called the pacifist, on the other hand, insist that Article 9 ofJapan's Constitution be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, hoping that Japan could barely feel superior by
way of exercising soft power as a peace-loving country. But strangely enough, no one could
logically demonstrate why Article 9 merits a Nobel Peace Prize. Anybody across the political
spectrum finds it difficult to accept the fact that Japan has become second in Asia. The current
position of Japan is not a "middle power" during the Cold War era as advocated by Professor
SOEYA Yoshihide of Keio University. During that era, Japan was a middle power from the global
viewpoint, but was the only big power in Asia. However, Japan has now slipped down from status asa big power in Asia as well. The Japanese, who have lost confidence in themselves, are facing a
crucial moment whether to advance a closed-door policy going against, for example, nuclear power
generation or participation in TPP, or again to move up the development ladder through an
open-door policy such as re-starting nuclear power generation and speeding up participation in TPP.
(This is an English translation of the article written by Mr. KATO Akira, Professor of J.
F. Oberlin University, which originally appeared on the e-forum “Hyakka-Somei” ofCEAC on November 18, 2014.)