After Japan broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1972, exchanges between the countries ended. It was only years later, through the efforts of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), that communication between Taipei and Tokyo was rekindled.
The next turning point came in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, when Taiwanese made significant contributions to disaster relief and recovery in Japan.
Then-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe regarded Lee as a kind of mentor, and the mutual goodwill of the statesmen helped grow the bond between Taiwan and Japan.
Abe’s death has left a political vacuum in Japan, and pro-Taiwan groups especially have found themselves without a political leader. To make matters worse, last year, the pro-China Yoshimasa Hayashi became Japan’s minister of foreign affairs. Hayashi is quite open about his pro-China stance, and treats Taiwan brashly.
On the possibility of a “Taiwan emergency,” Hayashi spoke only of the need to evacuate Japanese citizens, and disregarded the security of Taiwan. When mentioning Vice President William Lai (賴清德), he avoided Lai’s name, referring to him simply as “that person.”
When it was confirmed that Japan would hold a state funeral for Abe, Hayashi instructed the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Lai that they were not invited. In the end, Taiwan sent a three-person delegation, which, after the funeral, was not asked to visit the Akasaka Palace.
These rebuffs not only filled Taiwanese with indignation, they also sowed uncertainty about the future of benevolent exchanges between the nations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) once vowed that China would never seek regional hegemony, but Beijing’s bellicose behavior has shown otherwise, evidenced by a series of military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in August, launching missiles that landed in the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
On the 50th anniversary of Japan-China diplomatic relations, Xi exchanged congratulatory messages with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a telephone call, saying that he attached “great importance” to the relations between their countries, even though, on the same day, Chinese naval ships sailed through the Osumi Strait, accompanied by Russian vessels.
Thus, the Janus-faced China conceals its iron fist in a velvet glove, and not every act of its wickedness is on the record.
Japan and China have a complicated history, with various grudges old and new, and their relations are expected to continue in this vein.
Nevertheless, the countries have much to offer each other. China’s market provides a solution to Japan’s economic woes, and China, besieged by the world because of its behavior, hopes to find a gateway in Japan. This is why Kishida at the UN General Assembly last month only condemned Russia, even though China and Russia are in collusion.
Similar dynamics are apparent in China’s attitude to Japan: At Abe’s state funeral, China did not complain about the presence of the Taiwanese delegation, and accepted that Beijing and Taipei were represented at an international event. It was a show of mutual goodwill between China and Japan, but under the surface the malevolence grows.
The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress is under way. Should Xi once again secure his position as the highest authority, he would be able to fulfill his political ambition by extending an olive branch to Japan.
Even though Xi is a driver of the hostile Japan-China relationship, the Kishida administration values the economy above defense, and would seize every profit-making opportunity.
A Japan-China relationship as such, top-down and lacking any popular will, is like an upside-down triangle, unstable and liable to topple at any moment.
The friendship between Taiwan and Japan is a bottom-up relationship founded upon popular goodwill. Similar to a pyramid with a solid base, the Taiwan-Japan relationship is built on virtues and good deeds. Even in a raging tempest, it would remain stable and stand tall.
The dynamic in exchanges between Taiwan, Japan and China are set, and any change would come as a result of their citizens.
In the free world, which includes Taiwan and Japan, everything depends on the popular will. The will of the people, like sea currents, is capable of carrying and overturning a boat. The autocrat, without heeding public opinion, would reap what they sow and suffer the consequence of their own doing.
Wang Hui-sheng is chief director of the Kisei Ladies’ and Children’s Hospital in Japan.
Translated by Liu Yi-hung
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