This article presents a fully reconstructed version of the January issue of WiLL magazine’s dialogue between Masayuki Takayama and Professor Katsuo Hiizumi (Professor Emeritus, Aichi Prefectural University), titled “Why the Japanese Do Not Truly Understand the Chinese.” The discussion comprehensively examines the Takayama administration’s China policy, distortions in 80 years of postwar Japanese diplomacy, Chinese EV and solar fraud issues, the core structure of U.S.–China relations, the historical role of missionaries, communist historical indoctrination, China’s education system, Xi Jinping’s ideological formation, Maoist continuity, the Taiwan issue, and Kunio Yanagita’s theory of the Japanese people. The dialogue calls on Japan to abandon long-held illusions about China and to rebuild its China policy based on historical reality and geopolitical truth.

The following is an excerpt from the special dialogue feature titled “The Japanese Do Not Truly Understand the Chinese,” published in the January issue of the monthly magazine WiLL (the current issue), featuring Masayuki Takayama, the one-and-only journalist of the postwar world, and Katsuo Hiizumi, Professor Emeritus of Aichi Prefectural University.
This is essential reading not only for all Japanese citizens, but for people all over the world.

The Japanese Do Not Truly Understand the Chinese

The Japanese Have Long Continued to Harbor Illusions About China.
Now Is the Time to Awaken!
Correcting the Great Misunderstanding About China

Takayama:
Prime Minister Takaichi’s diplomacy has gotten off to a brilliant start. It began with ASEAN, followed by summit meetings with the United States, China, and South Korea, and then APEC. Because Ms. Takaichi had no prior diplomatic experience, there were voices of concern and apprehension, but those fears proved unfounded.

Hiizumi:
It can be said that it was a very solid start. Through the Takaichi administration, we have now been given an opportunity to reexamine eighty years of postwar Japan–China diplomacy. If it exposes how distorted Japan’s China policy has been, the role played by the Takaichi administration will be extremely significant. More than that, I would like it to become an opportunity to correct the great misunderstanding about China.

Takayama:
To begin with, Chinese-made solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs) can be described as brilliantly executed scams. Even in China itself, people are turning away from EVs. They say you should park EVs at least 15 meters away from buildings, and should never park them in underground garages. You never know when they will catch fire, and once they do, the fire is completely uncontrollable.
In China today, Toyota’s hybrid cars are selling well. No one wants to ride EVs anymore.

Hiizumi:
There have also been many incidents of Chinese-made mobile batteries suddenly catching fire.

Takayama:
Chinese products have long been synonymous with defective goods. Japanese with any sense do not buy them. In the United States as well, Chinese-made dog food was sold cheaply, and when people fed it to their beloved dogs, they all died. It caused a tremendous uproar, and Americans, too, came to know the true nature of the Chinese.
In 2015, the pro-China political scientist Michael Pillsbury announced that China is a nation of con artists, and if left unchecked, it will surpass the United States by 2049. Climate change and CO₂ emission regulations are also said to be global scams in which China is deeply involved, yet Japan still does not awaken.
Former Democratic Party Prime Minister Naoto Kan forced Japan to purchase massive numbers of Chinese solar panels, wreaking havoc on Japan’s natural environment. Ms. Takaichi says she will move to regulate mega-solar projects. At last, Kan Naoto’s treasonous policies can be brought to an end.

Hiizumi:
If I were to offer one piece of advice to Ms. Takaichi, it would be this: do not display an openly confrontational attitude toward China. If you voice objections outright, the enemy, shrewd as it is, may lay extremely clever traps.
It was reported that at ASEAN, when Ms. Takaichi declared her commitment to a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” the leaders responded with thunderous applause. ASEAN countries may publicly accept such ideals, but they also demand concrete benefits in return. In fact, after Ms. Takaichi’s visit, Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a new version 3.0 of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). Without such tangible gains, ASEAN countries will not take concrete action for Japan.

Takayama:
In 1977, then–Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda visited Manila in the Philippines and proclaimed the “Fukuda Doctrine,” consisting of three principles: that Japan would not become a military power, that it would build mutual trust through heartfelt exchanges across a broad range of social and cultural fields, and that it would cooperate with ASEAN in solidarity on an equal footing.
Ms. Takaichi’s statements bear some resemblance to that.

Hiizumi:
At the time, Japan’s strong economy provided immense practical benefits in the background, which is why ASEAN accepted the Fukuda Doctrine. The question now is whether such benefits still exist. That is a point Japanese diplomacy must consider.

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First Deceive, Then Profit

Takayama:
A U.S.–China summit was also held, but how substantial were its results?

Hiizumi:
I had expected that the U.S. and China would reach a compromise somewhere. As anticipated, China effectively lifted its export restrictions on rare earths and other critical minerals, and in exchange, the United States agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 20 percent to 10 percent.
China’s basic mindset is to demand 100 and be satisfied if it obtains 30. Trump-style negotiation tactics are the same. At this summit, the intentions of both sides likely aligned.
By contrast, the Japanese tend to be overly earnest; when China demands 100, they feel apologetic if they do not provide the full 100. That is why Japan cannot negotiate effectively with China.

Takayama:
When I first went to China, I saw a store selling a peculiar-looking ear cleaner. I asked the price and was told “20 yuan.” I handed over 20 yuan, and they were astonished (laughs). Later I learned it was a cheap item worth about 3 yuan. First they try to deceive you into making a profit—that is the Chinese way.

Hiizumi:
When I first went to Taiwan in 1968, I was walking around Taipei to buy souvenirs and saw folding fans being sold for 3 yuan each. I asked for three. They said, “10 yuan.” I protested, “That’s not right, it should be 9 yuan,” and they replied, “If you can buy three, you can pay 10 yuan” (laughs).

Takayama:
The Japanese have that kind of foolish honesty, and even if you tell them to reform it, it is now too late to change.
By the 1890s, the United States had sent more than 1,500 missionaries into China. Among them were the father of the Nobel Prize–winning writer Pearl Buck, and the father of Leighton Stuart, who later served as president of Yenching University. The second generation of these missionaries became what, in ninja terms, would be called “grass”—operatives who engaged in anti-Japanese subversion.
By the 1930s, the number of U.S. missionaries, journalists, diplomats, newspaper correspondents, and businessmen combined had grown to 13,000. When American “grass” and the wily Chinese joined forces, the Japanese were effortlessly deceived, and Japan was dragged into the quagmire of war.
In that sense as well, the United States and China are strikingly similar. The United States is ill-natured, and China is even more so. Ms. Takaichi must be careful not to be deceived by these two great powers.

Hiizumi:
In 1972, Nixon and Kissinger visited China and met with Zhou Enlai. The secret information from those talks has gradually been revealed, and it becomes clear that both countries thoroughly mocked Japan. Kissinger criticized the Japanese by saying, “The Japanese cannot keep secrets. If you pass secret information to the Japanese ambassador in Washington, it will be circulating by the afternoon.” Zhou Enlai burst into laughter at that.
In that sense, the attitudes of both the United States and China toward Japan are the same. As proof, Trump’s message on August 14 marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II and Xi Jinping’s speech at the September 3 ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory in the Anti-Japanese War were virtually identical in content. Both placed the responsibility for the war on Japan, declaring that Japan was at fault.

Takayama:
They are like half-brothers from a family of swindlers.

Hiizumi:
Even if the U.S. and China were to enter a state of conflict, they would likely avoid completely annihilating each other. Rather, they would find a suitable landing point. The recent U.S.–China summit is precisely such an example. Japan has no need to associate proactively with such countries.
Yet Japan’s politicians and mass media do not understand the true nature of the U.S. and China. It is truly troubling.

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Indoctrinated With a Communist View of History

Takayama:
When a public opinion survey was conducted regarding attitudes toward China, more than 80 percent of respondents answered that they “disliked” China. That figure offers considerable hope.

Hiizumi:
In that sense as well, the Japanese must once again take a hard, clear look at the essence of the Chinese people.
A history textbook published by the Chinese Communist Party in June 1955, How to Study History by Cui Wei, is extremely instructive. At the beginning, an old man named “History,” who has lived for 4,000 years, appears. This old man teaches history to the children.
“Think about it, children. China has such vast lands, yet there is nowhere that is not soaked with the hot blood of our ancestors. There is nowhere that is not soaked with the hot blood of revolutionary martyrs. There is nowhere that is not soaked with the hot blood of heroes who defended the motherland.”
Then he continues: “A communist society is a good thing, isn’t it? You like it too, don’t you? Then now I will teach you how to realize communism. I will tell you whom you must fight and how you must win. Listen carefully, children.”

Takayama:
So it is written in the form of a story.

Hiizumi:
Yes. After that, it proceeds in a question-and-answer format about history.
“Do you know what year 1921 was?”
The children answer, “Yes! It was the year the First Communist Party Congress was held.”
“Then what about 1922?”
“That was the year the Second Communist Party Congress was held.”
“What about 1923?”
“That was the year Sun Yat-sen attempted to fight together with the Communist Party.”
Since this was published in 1955, it must have had a profound influence on the current Chinese leadership centered on Xi Jinping. Their minds are filled with this kind of historical view.

Takayama:
That is a frightening story.

To be continued.

Paul Simon & Goerge Harrison- Here Comes The Sun