Published on September 8, 2016. Drawing on an article by Kerry Brown of King’s College London in Newsweek, this essay argues that the Japan–China relationship represents the most serious crisis in Asia. It demonstrates how this realist analysis stands in stark contrast to the superficial moralism long promoted by certain media narratives.

It proves that this is an argument that strikes precisely at reality, standing in direct opposition to the commentaries of superficial moralists.
2016-09-08
The following is taken from an article titled “Asia’s Greatest Crisis: The Japan–China Relationship,” published on page 10 of the September 13 issue of Newsweek, written by Kerry Brown, Professor at King’s College London.

It demonstrates that Ms. Sakurai’s argument in the previous chapter is a commentary that accurately addresses reality, standing in complete contrast to the arguments of superficial moralists who, together with the Asahi Shimbun and like-minded so-called cultural figures, have continued to mislead and diminish the nation.

Asia’s Greatest Crisis: The Japan–China Relationship

Which state relationship in Asia today is the most troubling.

Where is the likelihood of armed conflict the highest.

North Korea, advancing its nuclear development.
Pakistan and India, where tensions persist.
China’s clashes with neighboring countries in the South China Sea.

Or a direct U.S.–China confrontation as an extension of these issues.

There is no doubt that all of these are serious problems.

Yet when we look back at history, the most dangerous relationship in Asia, and the one that has endured the longest, is that between China and Japan.

Japan–China relations are extremely complex, but when the problem is distilled, it can be reduced to a single question.

Can two countries that have repeatedly argued over everything avoid conflict even now, when both have become global powers.

History shows that this has never been the case.

According to a new book, The Chinese Empire and the Rising Sun Empire, by Professor June Dreyer of the University of Miami, the history of Sino-Japanese rivalry over regional dominance dates back 1,500 years.

At first, both sides confronted each other with an arrogant attitude.

When China attempted to treat Japan as a vassal state, Japan in turn looked down upon China.

However, it was only after Japan rapidly modernized in the late nineteenth century that full-scale conflict emerged.

Japan’s victories in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 became a prelude to the nationalism that engulfed the region during the First World War.

There is a clear pattern in the history of Japan–China relations.

Periods of warm relations and cold relations alternate.

The representative warm period came after the normalization of diplomatic relations, from the 1970s through the 1980s.

There were also brief favorable periods in the 1990s and the mid-2000s.

However, for nearly the past ten years, relations have remained cold.

To be continued.