On this episode of China Uncensored,
why does China suddenly want to be friends with Japan?
Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
Last week marked the 45th anniversary
of diplomatic ties between China and Japan.
And suddenly,
it seems like they’re best buddies.And that’s weird.
Until 1972,
their diplomatic ties consisted of
a brutal military invasion—
which China still refers to not as World War II,
but as “The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.”—
and the war was followed by nearly
30 years of anti-Japanese propaganda.
But eventually, diplomatic ties were restored.
And now relations between China and Japan
have never been better!
In a rare appearance,
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe
actually showed up to an event
hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
That was the first time in 15 years
that a Japanese Prime Minister
showed up to this kind of shindig.
Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
also exchanged congratulatory messages.
You know,
congratulating each other on not
tearing each others’ throats out.
Li’s message talked about improving ties, quote,
“in the spirit of taking history as a mirror
and looking into the future”.
Yeah, if Li Keqiang ever asks
if you’d like to go to his poetry reading,
tell him you have somewhere else to be.
But as, um, beautiful as that poetry may sound,
the Chinese Communist Party has actually been
undermining Japan for years—
even during the period of diplomatic relations.
For example, the CCP has stolen
tons of Japanese technology.
I’m looking at you, high-speed train.
Sadly, China didn’t also steal Japan’s
safety standards for high-speed trains.
And then in 2012, the CCP allowed
widespread anti-Japanese riots across China.
It was sparked by a dispute over some small,
uninhabited islands.
And then some people decided
the most logical course of action would be
to march down the street,
carrying pictures of...Mao Zedong?
Ok.
But then they also destroyed
every Japanese product in sight.
Like this Chinese police car
that happened to be made in Japan.
An over-reaction?
Chinese police didn’t think so.
I’m thinking maybe the CCP told them
to look the other way.
But the CCP was still worried—
about all those Chinese citizens
who didn’t join the protests!
Maybe they didn’t hate Japan enough.
That’s why the CCP embarked on
a slew of borderline absurd Japanese-themed TV shows.
Not absurd like that game show “Food Floor Dinosaur!”
That was awesome.
These ones were not.
They were mostly about killing people.
In 2013, Quartz reported that 30% of Chinese primetime TV
was dedicated to shows about killing Japanese soldiers.
As you might imagine, at that time,
for the 40th anniversary of Sino-Japanese relations,
China didn’t even bother sending a congratulatory message.
In fact, as recently as two months ago,
China sent its military into
Japanese Air Defense Identification Zones
and told them to “get used to it.”
But now, the CCP is suddenly being friendly.
Hosting that anniversary party and all.
So how did the CCP go from
“Japanese and Dogs are Forbidden”
to hosting a black tie party for the Prime Minister
with an awesome ice phoenix?
Well, it’s the fallout from this.
That’s the path a North Korean missile took
right over Japan just a few weeks ago.
Though it wasn’t targeting Japan,
it did freak everyone out.
And it reopened Japan’s internal debate
about developing its own military.
After the Japanese surrender in World War II,
the US forced Japan to agree to a constitution
that prohibited the country from having any military
except a self-defence force.
Japan is also not allowed to declare war
or have nuclear weapons.
And before you ask, Godzilla is allowed;
he’s part of the self-defense force.
Though having him around is a bit of a double-edged sword.
Anyway, the CCP has always been happy
about Japan’s military restrictions.
When your biggest economic rival
can never go to war against you,
it makes you feel a bit more confident
telling them to “get used” to your military activity...
Riiiiight up until they start pushing for a military.
Then it’s time to make peace.
But Prime Minister Shinzō Abe
has always wanted a military.
And North Korea is giving him the perfect excuse.
"The gravity of this threat is unprecedented.
It is indisputably a matter of urgency.
It’s also giving him a much needed boost
in the polls at home.
“Abe is taking advantage of bolstered approval ratings—
partly on the back of his handling
of the situation with North Korea…
in a bid to achieve his long held goal
of revising Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.”
This is something he’s been pushing
for a long time.
In 2014,
Japan made the first expansion of
its defense force in forty years.
Not long after,
he made a reinterpretation of the Japanese constitution.
Instead of limiting military force to Japan’s self-defense,
Japan could now also use its military to defend an ally.
And just a few months ago,
Abe put a deadline on his plans to change the constitution.
This was right after saying North Korea
could launch a sarin gas attack.
Japan has also recently been doing live fire drills
with the US military.
The US has a mutual defense treaty with Japan.
That means the US is bound to protect Japan,
including the Senkaku islands.
Those are the islands China also claims,
the ones that sparked the protests I mentioned earlier.
“There’s a nightmare scenario brewing in the East China Sea.”
“The risks of an accidental confrontation
between the two nations is rising
and it could draw in other countries
like the United States.”
And the reason the Chinese Communist Party
is so freaked out about a militarized Japan,
is that Japan’s self-defense force
can already rival China’s military.
Even though China has more soldiers
and outspends Japan,
“Japan has the strongest navy and air force in Asia”
according to one expert.
And remember,
that’s with only a self-defense force.
Japan’s supremacy is thanks in part
to cutting edge technology
plus a missile defense system
installed by the US.
Meanwhile, the Chinese military
is still struggling to modernize.
And even though right now
Japan isn’t allowed nuclear weapons,
the country already has nuclear power.
It’s not stretch to imagine how quickly
Japan could arm itself with nuclear weapons.
In recent weeks,
some Japanese officials have even quietly suggested
that they should allow the US
to keep nuclear weapons in Japan.
With Godzilla and a nuclear-armed Uncle Sam,
they’d be unstoppable.
This is all very convenient for Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
He’s using the North Korea nuclear situation,
and Japan’s relationship with the US,
to get Japan the military force he’s always wanted.
“Together with Donald Trump,
we have been successfully demonstrating
our strong will to exercise pressure against North Korea….
So I strongly look forward to making every effort
with you and also with other members
of the international community
to achieve the de-nuclearizaton of North Korea.”
And that might be a reality the Chinese Communist Party
will just have to get used to.
Let us know what you think.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
See you next time.
So how much you want to bet
that if Japan gets a military,
it will have giant robots?
But until that becomes the most interesting thing
to watch on the Internet,
for now, head over to ChinaUncensored.tv,
where you can see full half hour episodes
of China Uncensored for free.
Once again that’s ChinaUncensored.tv.