Aug. 13 in 1945 was the last moment of a long dark night in China. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may not agree, it was the darkest before dawn for Japan as well.
In fact the whole Pacific was hanging on a cliff, waiting to see if Japan would continue fighting on its own land to the bitter end while prolonging the most devastating war in human history.
The surrender of Japan two days later should have never been a national humiliation as Japanese right-wing politicians have long pictured it.
Surely Japan was forced to make the decision by the surrender of Germany in Europe, the military victory of the Allied in Southeast Asia and the Pacific island, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and years of resistance by the people in the lands Japan invaded.
But it was still a righteous call.
War ended and peace began in Asia where billions of people had the chance to breathe, heal and rebuild their life. This included about 70 million Japanese.
The international order forged after the World War II contributed to the general peace in Asia for almost seven decades, during which Japan has risen to be one of the most important global economies.
Now the Japanese government has moved to write it off. Prime Minister Abe considers the country's pacifist Constitution, adopted after the end of WWII, a barrier for Japan to be a "normal country".
In July, his cabinet endorsed a reinterpretation of the pacifist Constitution for the right of collective self-defense, which paves the way for sending soldiers into battle overseas to defend Japan and "countries with close ties".
Earlier this month, in its white paper for 2014 defending the decision,the Japanese government attributed its own military buildup to the so-called "China threat".
It was interesting that Japan launched the war against China in 1937 because of China's weakness. The politicians at the time considered Japan a bigger country trapped in small remote island and wanted to extend its power to the poor but geographically large and resource-rich neighbor to safeguard its ultimate state interests.
Strong or weak, China is always the excuse of Japan's military attempts. This is clearly not the problem of China.
As less developed and militarily weak as China was 69 years ago, the Chinese never ceased to resist Japan's invasion and with a bloody price it managed to hold back the several-million-strong Japanese army. It was not because Chinese wanted to win the war but because they wanted to win peace.
As prosperous and vigorous as it is today, China has never attempted to threaten Japan with military might let alone to invade Japan. What we want is a trustworthy and peaceful neighbor.
The surrender of Japan is not the defeat of the Japanese army or victory of the Allies. It is the victory of peace.
The sooner Japanese government and its politicians come to terms with this part of history, the more clearly they can see through the current predicament of Sino-Japanese relations and the bigger the chance for the two countries to pull through it.
Friday, August 15, 2014
History speaks loudly, does Japan listen?
Aug. 13 in 1945 was the last moment of a long dark night in China. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may not agree, it was the darkest before dawn for Japan as well.
In fact the whole Pacific was hanging on a cliff, waiting to see if Japan would continue fighting on its own land to the bitter end while prolonging the most devastating war in human history.
The surrender of Japan two days later should have never been a national humiliation as Japanese right-wing politicians have long pictured it.
Surely Japan was forced to make the decision by the surrender of Germany in Europe, the military victory of the Allied in Southeast Asia and the Pacific island, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and years of resistance by the people in the lands Japan invaded.
But it was still a righteous call.
War ended and peace began in Asia where billions of people had the chance to breathe, heal and rebuild their life. This included about 70 million Japanese.
The international order forged after the World War II contributed to the general peace in Asia for almost seven decades, during which Japan has risen to be one of the most important global economies.
Now the Japanese government has moved to write it off. Prime Minister Abe considers the country's pacifist Constitution, adopted after the end of WWII, a barrier for Japan to be a "normal country".
In July, his cabinet endorsed a reinterpretation of the pacifist Constitution for the right of collective self-defense, which paves the way for sending soldiers into battle overseas to defend Japan and "countries with close ties".
Earlier this month, in its white paper for 2014 defending the decision,the Japanese government attributed its own military buildup to the so-called "China threat".
It was interesting that Japan launched the war against China in 1937 because of China's weakness. The politicians at the time considered Japan a bigger country trapped in small remote island and wanted to extend its power to the poor but geographically large and resource-rich neighbor to safeguard its ultimate state interests.
Strong or weak, China is always the excuse of Japan's military attempts. This is clearly not the problem of China.
As less developed and militarily weak as China was 69 years ago, the Chinese never ceased to resist Japan's invasion and with a bloody price it managed to hold back the several-million-strong Japanese army. It was not because Chinese wanted to win the war but because they wanted to win peace.
As prosperous and vigorous as it is today, China has never attempted to threaten Japan with military might let alone to invade Japan. What we want is a trustworthy and peaceful neighbor.
The surrender of Japan is not the defeat of the Japanese army or victory of the Allies. It is the victory of peace.
The sooner Japanese government and its politicians come to terms with this part of history, the more clearly they can see through the current predicament of Sino-Japanese relations and the bigger the chance for the two countries to pull through it.
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