Japan left assets worth approximately eight trillion yen in South Korea during the period of Japanese rule, while its total ODA to China exceeded three trillion yen—just how many favors has Japan done for South Korea and China?
March 12, 2019
A chapter titled “What Surprised Me Even More Was the Recruitment of 64,000 People for the Job of Turning Off the Lights at Universities,” which I published on December 13, 2018, attracted a large number of searches today and entered the top five.
The following is from an article by Toshiyoshi Katsumata, former editor-in-chief of Weekly Toyo Keizai, published in this month’s issue of the monthly magazine WiLL under the title “Keidanren Still Courting China: Keidanren Chairman Says, ‘We Will Contribute to China’s Development’—Is This Something the Leader of Japan’s Business Community Should Say?”
The introductory section is omitted.
The Nikkei’s Nonsense Article
Meanwhile, some Japanese companies have concluded that “China is finished” and have begun withdrawing from the country.
Last year, the number of Japanese expatriates in China decreased by approximately 16 percent compared with 2012, while the number of expatriates in ASEAN countries increased by approximately 32 percent.
Investment in China also fell by approximately 30 percent compared with the same year, while investment in ASEAN approximately doubled.
Amid these developments, I could not believe my eyes when I read an article titled “Japanese Companies Focus on Southeast Asia” in the November 4 edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Regarding the increasingly clear trend of Japanese companies beginning to withdraw from China and place greater emphasis on Southeast Asia, the article presented the pessimistic view that “there is also concern that they may miss out on the growth of China, the world’s second-largest economy.”
It could not be more misguided.
Actively expanding into China at this moment would be like voluntarily walking into a fire.
It is obvious that companies should escape to ASEAN, many of whose members participate in the TPP.
The article concluded: “Southeast Asia also has political risks, such as the frequent military coups in Thailand, and currency risks, including declining investment returns caused by currency depreciation.”
Then allow me to say this.
If companies go to China, important intellectual property will be stolen, and if anti-Japanese activities intensify, their factories may be destroyed.
In terms of currency risk, China, which is reducing its foreign-exchange reserves, poses the greater danger.
This Nihon Keizai Shimbun article could almost be mistaken for something from Xinhua News Agency or the People’s Daily.
I cannot help suspecting that it may have been written at China’s prompting.
Just Watch from a Safe Distance
There is probably no use worrying about it, but South Korea will also face serious trouble in 2019.
President Moon Jae-in is interested only in reconciliation between North and South Korea, and his economic policy is so terrible that it cannot even be called “policy.”
Without considering the growth of the economy as a whole, he is attempting to raise the minimum wage by 30 percent in two years.
There is no possibility that such a thing will work.
What surprised me even more was the recruitment of 64,000 people for “the job of turning off the lights at universities.”
Students or security guards can surely turn off the lights.
They are carrying out such a careless measure merely to increase the apparent “number of employed people.”
Because South Korea depends economically upon China, it will decline together with China.
To prevent that from happening, any normal country would consider rebuilding its relationship with Japan.
Far from doing so, however, South Korea has turned its bow against Japan over the wartime labor issue.
Its economy, diplomacy, and judiciary are all in complete chaos.
Japan left assets worth approximately eight trillion yen in South Korea during the period of Japanese rule, while its total ODA to China exceeded three trillion yen—just how many favors has Japan done for South Korea and China?
There is no need for Japan to remain deeply involved in the future with countries that repay those favors with hostility.
When Japan received powdered skim milk from the United States military during the occupation, the National Diet adopted a resolution expressing its gratitude.
From South Korea and China, however, we can sense no such gratitude, ethical standards, or conscience—in other words, no “humanity.”
It is only natural that such “beast-like” nations should decline.
We must not take the wrong path.
Japan should simply watch such countries from a safe distance and build friendly relations with countries that share its values.