OPINION> OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS
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OPINION> OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS
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Japan at Crossroad
By Han Dongpin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-26 15:22 Japan has been occupied by the United States, since its defeat at the end of World War II. Nominally speaking, Japan is an independent country now. But in essence, Japan is not an independent country in the real sense of the word. When another country has military bases on your territory, you are not an independent country. The Americans always claim that they are doing the Japanese people a great favor by defending the nation with their military presence in Japan. But the Americans forget their own popular saying that there is no free lunch in this world. American military presence in Japan is not there to defend Japan itself but the American interests in Japan. Because of American military presence, Japan has to make its foreign policy according to American wishes. If the Japanese Government wants to make its foreign policy according to what it is best for Japan, independent from American wishes, they need to worry about American reactions.
During the Cold War, American government eagerly shared its technology with Japan and opened American market to Japanese products. But these benefits came with a high price. Japan has to play a subservient role in the US’s overall foreign policy to maintain its global dominance. Japan will not be happy with such a role in the world forever. Japan will seek its independence from American dominance sooner or later. However, as an island nation, Japan will never be independent from the U.S in this world if it does not improve its relationship with its Asian neighbors, particularly China. Considering the atrocities in China and Korea before and during the WWII, Japan needs to do a lot to regain the trust and friendship from the Chinese and the Korean (both south and north) people. But Japan won’t feel secure enough to seek independence from the U.S. unless Japan builds up mutual trust with China and Korea. The newly elected Democratic Party seems to take more sincere steps toward building trust with Chinese government and Chinese people. In response to the new Japanese Government’s new foreign policy initiatives, American government officials, including its Secretary of Defense, are already sending warnings to the Japanese government about the consequences of its actions. Apparently, the U.S. will not let Japan take its first step toward independence without some fights. The Chinese government and people should help its important neighbor gain its independence from the so-called U.S military’s protection and recognize that American military presence in Japan and Republic of Korea are big threats to our security and peace. It is in our best interests to get rid of American military presence in the backyard. Apart from helping both the Japanese government and people remember the lessons of the past, it is also equally important for China to show them that Chinese government and people have friendly intention toward the Japanese people, as Chairman Mao and Premiere Zhou did in the 1960s and 1970s. We do not need to push our moral superiority as victims of Japan’s once imperialism. We should also recognize the fact that the Japanese people themselves were equally victimized by the Japan’s ruling class, as well as the fact that Japan invaded China at a time when China was the victim of rampant western imperialism and colonialism in China. We do not need to single out Japan alone when we talk about Chinese people’s suffering at hands of foreign imperialism and colonialism. Han Dongping is the Professor of History and Political Science, Warren Wilson College, NC. The article reflects the opinion of the author only.
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