 seeks to inform world opinion of Japanese ideas on Japan and international affairs. JIIA Commentary is available on this website and through free subscription. |
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| Series: How Japan Imagines China |
| No.4 |
The Odd Couple: Japan and China -The Politics of History and Identity- |
Haruko Satoh |
4 August 2006 |
| The need to arrive
at a historical reconciliation has become key to Sino-Japanese
relations. This requires a re-examination of how, if at all, peace was
established between the two countries. Yasukuni shrine, which has
become synonymous with the word obstacle between the two countries, may
in fact be the very key to reconciliation. And reconciliation, which is
about politics and not history, reveals questions of legitimacy and
identity of the ruling party in both countries. |
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| Series: How Japan Imagines China |
| No.3 |
How Japan Imagines China and Sees Itself |
Masaru Tamamoto |
31 May 2006 |
| Behind Japan’s
hawkish foreign policy and quest for “normal state” lies a concern of
the political class that Asian affairs are now propelled by China. The
new mood in Japan has its sources in nationalism and history, economic
rise and relative decline, pride and recognition; it derives from two
societies in the midst of remaking themselves, from the historical
difficulty of forging a modus vivendi, and from a tangled web of forces. |
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| Series: Is Japan Re-Entering the World of International Power Politics? |
| No.2 |
“We the Japanese People” - A Reflection on Public Opinion - |
Hikari Agakimi |
17 May 2006 |
| Japan is in the
midst of a grand social transformation. Political manners, economic
rules, patterns of everyday life and international relations are all in
flux. However, contrary to what many pundits in Japan claim, recent
opinion polls indicate no sign of rising nationalism - a survey finds a
generation wanting more rights against the ruling party’s move to
impose patriotism and stipulate people’s duties in the constitution. |
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| Series: Is Japan Re-Entering the World of International Power Politics? |
| No.1 |
Japanese Discovery of Democracy |
Masaru Tamamoto |
26 April 2006 |
| Against a backdrop
of their cold diplomatic relations, Japan and China are competing for
moral superiority couched in terms of democracy versus historical
justice. However, Tokyo’s talk of democracy and dismissal of China as a
dictatorship is more an expression of frustration than a thought out
policy as Tokyo struggles to trump Beijing’s history card. Japan’s
political class shows impatience for leadership status in the face of
China’s rise. |