The Image of Japan

Recently The Yomiuri Shimbun ran this article on the efforts of the Abe government to repair the "tarnished" image of Japan in the international community. This is an important issue and not just because of the way other countries think of Japan. That is superficial and on matters of great importance it is often essential not to allow the opinion of others to get in the way of doing what is best for the country. A perfect example is the recent emphasis on national security. It is essential that Japan take all steps necessary to defend against aggression even though it can be expected that some countries will accuse Japan of returning to "militarism". However, what is of vital importance is the reason behind the campaign by some foreign governments, particularly Communist China and South Korea, to spread a negative image of Japan in the rest of the world. There is not much that Japan can do about what China and Korea say; they are foreign countries over which Japan has no control. What the Japanese people can do is to control what they say and how they react.

One important point is to avoid the temptation to do to other countries what China and Korea are doing to Japan because this is self-defeating. The reason is rooted in what drives China and Korea to vilify Japan in the first place. There is a deeper purpose behind campaigns such as that from South Korea to publicize the Comfort Women issue in countries around the world, particularly the United States. Have you ever wondered why Korea would go to the expense of putting up several of the Comfort Women statues in cities across America and place advertisements in major publications accusing Japan of having run a sex-slave operation in World War II? It is not simply to make Japan look bad but to have a real impact on American foreign policy and the foreign policy of other countries where the South Koreans spread and publicize this issue and their false image of Japan. They do it in order to cause division between Japan and those countries which are allied to Japan. That is why the campaign has focused so heavily on the United States, because the United States is the most militarily powerful country in the world and has promised to defend Japan if the country is ever attacked by one of its neighbors. Of those countries closest to Japan; Russia, the two Koreas and China, all have a hostile attitude toward Japan. They also all have territorial disputes with Japan and having been drawing closer together. Any drive to action, however, is problematic because the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are backed up by the United States. Other powers are also friendly with Japan but none have the ability to assist in major military terms like the Americans.

This is the reasoning behind the campaign to smear the reputation of Japan around the world. It is an effort to divide allies and make Japan isolated in the world. Unfortunately, there are those in Japan who are inadvertently helping to make this campaign easier. Already the Chinese and Koreans have used articles or internet videos from Japan talking about Pearl Harbor, bombing raids or the atomic bombs and calling the Americans "war criminals" and condemning not just individuals but the entire country at large. This is no reason for Japan not to defend itself when slandered and the facts should be revealed to all. Japan was not waging an aggressive war, Japan did not want to fight the United States but was forced into it and the Japanese people did suffer horribly from the bombing campaign. However, going further and attacking other countries like the United States, Great Britain, Australia or others does not help and those who do can and have had their words used against Japan by people like the Chinese who are trying to tell all these countries that Japan is not a true friend and ally. They want these countries to believe that nothing has changed since World War II and that Japan hates them all and that they should, like in the war, join with China in opposing Japan. Japanese people should be careful not to mistakenly assist them in this strategy!

It is also important for the Japanese government and society at large, working with the education system, to adopt an official position regarding the war. Of course, not everyone will agree but there should be some more or less widely accepted "official" position for that the majority can support. All too often, the enemies of Japan have been aided by Japanese officials and newspapers who have given contradictory statements from others and their words are then used to attack Japan and tarnish the image of the country in the international community. Examples of this have been all too common and it often seems that, no matter what the issue, from Nanking to Comfort Women, the enemies of Japan are always able to produce some Japanese people to corroborate their version of events which casts Japan in the worst light possible. Obviously, this cannot be made a matter of law or Japan would cease to be a free country but it can be the subject of social pressure so that everyone will know that those who slander their country will not be well-received in society. So, as we have talked about before, Japan has to make some decisions; decisions about a standard response to the accusations made concerning the war and decisions about whether Japan wants to keep existing allies or make more enemies based on issues of the past. For the image of Japan to be polished and defended in the international community, these decisions will have to be made and the sooner the better because the enemies of Japan are unrelenting in their efforts.