This essay examines Chancellor Merkel’s visit to China, the blocking of her meeting with a human-rights lawyer, Germany’s business diplomacy with China, and the bizarre tendency of Japan’s media to describe their own country in self-denigrating terms such as “economic animal.”
By contrasting Europe’s pragmatic diplomacy with Japan’s masochistic media culture, it sharply questions the distortions embedded in Japanese journalism.

2019-06-14
There is a 100 percent certainty that the German media will not describe this visiting delegation to China as “economic animals.”

This is a chapter I posted in 2012 under the title, “In the past, Europe and America mocked Japan with terms such as transistor diplomacy.”
Japan’s mass media too, with a self-tormenting tendency unmatched anywhere in the world, accepted such Western views exactly as they were, and even described themselves as economic animals.
“A human-rights lawyer unable to meet the German chancellor.
Chinese authorities block departure.”
From page 9 of the February 4 Asahi Shimbun.
It became clear that Mo Shaoping, a Beijing human-rights lawyer who had been scheduled to meet German Chancellor Merkel on the 2nd during her visit to China, had been obstructed by China’s public security authorities.
While the difference in values between the two countries was being thrown into relief, Chancellor Merkel energetically carried out what was called “business diplomacy,” including holding talks with President Hu Jintao on the 3rd.
Mo has handled the defense of many writers and democracy activists, including Liu Xiaobo, the human-rights activist who received the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to Mo, who responded to an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, a party attended by Chancellor Merkel had been scheduled for the evening of the 2nd at the German embassy in Beijing, and Mo had also been invited.
He said that the embassy had informed him, “The Chancellor hopes to speak with you alone during the party.”
Mo had intended to speak to Chancellor Merkel about the current state of China’s judiciary, but after 2 p.m. that day, public security officials appeared at his office and blocked his departure.
Mo said, “It cannot be called wise for a China that proclaims reform and opening-up to continue with such methods.”
Also, when Chancellor Merkel visited Guangzhou on the 3rd, she had hoped to visit the Chinese paper Southern Weekly, known for exposés such as reporting on corruption among officials, but the newspaper side canceled.
As for the human-rights issue, the German side had said it would “make it a theme” even in the summit talks, but no details of any exchanges were conveyed.
…Middle omitted.
In Guangzhou, she interacted with business leaders of both countries, and in talks with Mr. Hu directly called for increased mutual investment, in addition to cooperation in fields where German companies are strong, such as agriculture, the environment, and the prevention of global warming.
The leaders of representative companies such as Volkswagen, Siemens, and Deutsche Bank accompanied her.
In a speech immediately after arrival, she strove to act as a spokesperson for the business world, even proposing to China the joint development of common standards for electric vehicles.
(Beijing = Nozomu Hayashi, Keiko Yoshioka, Munich = Ken Matsui)
There is a 100 percent certainty that the German media will not describe this visiting delegation to China as “economic animals.”