#Kakuei Tanaka

[anamon-book]

アサヒグラフ 1974年12月13日号 朝日新聞社 表紙＝田中角栄 田中退陣－そして…

[whatisonthemoon]

The late Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon mentioned past Japanese prime ministers a total of 1,330 times during sermons over around 53 years, with more than half of the remarks relating to former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, according to a Mainichi Shimbun probe.

Moon was a religious leader who founded the Unification Church, now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The Mainichi Shimbun analyzed all 615 volumes of "The Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon," which contain transcriptions of sermons delivered by Moon to followers of the Unification Church in South Korea between 1956 and 2009.

The suspected link between Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church has drawn increased attention after the July 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Backed into a corner, the LDP had to declare it would "break off relations" with the religious group ahead of unified local elections in April 2023. However, there has been no investigation surrounding Abe, who is believed to have had close ties with the group, and many aspects of the history of the party's connections with the church remain unknown.

The Mainichi Shimbun's translation of Moon's Korean-language sermon records has revealed that in a sermon given in 1989, the leader had urged that the church strengthen ties with Japanese Diet members, mainly those belonging to the Seiwakai faction, or the Abe faction, that used to be headed by then Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's father. The most recent probe has also brought to the fore that in addition to Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi and Abe's father Shintaro, whom Moon approached to gain a foothold in Japanese politics, the religious leader had also targeted former Prime Minister Nakasone as a key figure for political maneuvering.

Nakasone, who passed away in 2019 aged 101, headed the Japanese government for five years from 1982, and is the fifth longest-serving prime minister in postwar Japan. He was elected 20 consecutive times to the House of Representatives from 1947.

Each volume of "The Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon" contains around 300 to 400 pages. While it had been published until 2012, the year of Moon's death, it is now out of print and difficult to obtain.

The Mainichi Shimbun analyzed a total of around 200,000 pages on a website that the Unification Church's Japan headquarters pointed out as an "illegal reproduction." As the documents were saved as PDF files, reporters used Adobe Acrobat's advanced search function to enter the last names of politicians in Hangul and check the passages that came up while basing their decisions on the context of the passages in which they appeared, among other aspects.

A total of 32 politicians were covered by the search -- 31 prime ministers who were in office between the time of Shigeru Yoshida, who headed the government in 1954, when the Unification Church was founded, and current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as well as Shintaro Abe, who has no experience as prime minister but is said to have had close ties with the church.

The analysis found that Nakasone was mentioned in Moon's remarks 693 times, a remarkably high number that outstrips the 188 cases mentioning Kishi, who came in second. They were followed by Shintaro Abe, who was mentioned in 180 cases and Takeo Fukuda, who was mentioned in 139.

Ranking fifth to eighth were Junichiro Koizumi (84 times), Kakuei Tanaka (48 times), Eisaku Sato (40 times), Noboru Takeshita (35 times), who all maintained political influence while Moon was alive. Shinzo Abe, whose first, short-lived administration lasted between September 2006 and September 2007, came in ninth place as it was found he was mentioned in Moon's sermons 34 times.

Meanwhile, the names of Kishida, as well as Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan, and Yoshihiko Noda, who served as prime ministers during the reign of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan, did not come up in searches.

[bonesmakenoise]

you know those videos that maybe three other people have heard of that are completely foundational to your sense of humor?

[vashtijoy]

shido's conspiracy is big: koenkai (supporters associations) in japanese politics

How do you take over Japan, if you're a corrupt piece of shit?

On 11/25, when the Shido's Palace mission starts and you're finally released from captivity in Leblanc, the Modest Housewife in the Shibuya underground mall suddenly becomes the Not-So-Modest Housewife. And what does she tell us?

shido has a what now

What's the "supporters association"? In Japanese, it's a 後援会 kouenkai. From Wikipedia:

Koenkai (後援会, lit. "local support groups") are an invaluable tool of Japanese Diet members, especially of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). (note: in P5, this is the "Liberal Co-Prosperity Party" or LCP, Shido's original party and the original ruling party.) These groups serve as pipelines through which funds and other support are conveyed to legislators and through which the legislators can distribute favors to constituents in return.

The article is fascinating; do give it a read, as I can't possibly do it justice here. These are massive organisations, and relay vast amounts of cash to their members. They organise endless activities for their members—that meeting at the Wilton Hotel on 5/5 is one. They often require a personal connection to be invited, which is why the Housewife says this to her friend:

... she knows she wasn't invited.

Though koenkai are weaker in modern times, there are many examples of them being involved with corruption; here are a couple.

"The Asahi reported in the mid-1970s that the [koenkai of former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei] "virtually controls… agricultural committees, popular welfare committees, election management committees". This thorough penetration of Tanaka's koenkai into all important facets of Niigata's people's lives propelled him into becoming the father figure of the district. After his arrest in 1976 on corruption charges, many of Niigata's residents still expressed deep respect towards him."

"Due to the huge support [former Prime Minister] Takeshita Noboru enjoyed as a result of his koenkai, his electoral district in Shimane came to be known as ‘Takeshita Kingdom'. Despite being embroiled in many political scandals, related to insider trading and corruption (for which he was never charged), Takeshita's immense local support never waned."

so what does this tell us

In short, Shido's conspiracy is not a few corrupt high-level officials. It's not just Shido, Akechi, the SIU Director and those people on the ship. It is a vast organisation.

It recruits people by reputation (remember those five recommendations in the Palace?) from all levels of society—and those recruits then operate as a bloc, networking, doing favours for each other, advancing their mutual interests, connected via a hierarchy to Shido at the top. This is why Shido can control everything.

It also explains why everyone seems to be linked to the conspiracy—including the hapless Principal Kobayakawa. Did you think it was unrealistic for him to be involved? It seems likely that he was just a low-level member of Shido's koenkai.

When Shido needed someone at Shujin to investigate the Phantom Thieves, Kobayakawa was there—because they have people everywhere. A quick phone call from a higher-up in the organisation—the SIU Director, most likely, who we know Kobayakawa speaks to—and he's eating out of Shido's hand. And will do anything he wants....

So Kobayakawa wasn't anybody at all. He wasn't important. He wasn't somehow part of the deep state. He was just one of likely hundreds of thousands of paid-up Shido supporters looking to advance themselves, getting the vote out, and funding the cause.

He was in the right place at the right time. After all, the koenkai got Kobayakawa his job at Shujin. All his hopes for advancement are centred on it:

Because just like the two housewives in the underground mall, and probably like everyone else in the koenkai, Kobayakawa is a desperate social climber, impressed by wealth and fame and power and flashy titles.

I hope he thought it was worth it.

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/10/31)—first posted.

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

Today's #newszero is hosted by Sakurai Sho.

A week after the earthquake, people have been evacuated from their homes due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold..... and many people are feeling unwell.

323 people are reported missing.

The death toll from the disaster stands at 168.

Report by #Sakuraisho on #psychologicalaid

A fire broke out at the former residence of Kakuei Tanaka.

Matsumoto Hitoshi has announced it is suspending its activities.

The programme airs on Mondays at 23.00 p.m. Japan time and 15.00 p.m. European time. Don't miss it!

[richardnixonlibrary]

#Nixon50 #OTD 7/31/1973 President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon formally welcomed Prime Minister of Japan Kakuei Tanaka to the White House. (Image: WHPO-E1292-07A)

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Monday, 26th February

Welcome, добродошли (dobrodošli), 환영 (hwanyeong), mirë se vjen 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 26th February through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

26th February 2021 🗓️ : Event - Zamfara kidnapping A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria. "The Zamfara kidnapping (or Jangebe kidnapping) was the abduction of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 during a raid by armed bandits on 26 February 2021. The kidnapping occurred at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. All..."

26th February 2019 🗓️ : Event - Indian Air Force Indian Air Force fighter-jets targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot. "The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by Prasanth ypb

26th February 2014 🗓️ : Event - Ming Pao Former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Kevin Lau was stabbed, prompting concerns and protests about media freedom. "Ming Pao (Chinese: 明報) is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and collects local advertisements. Currently, of the overseas..."

Image by 王植波

26th February 1974 🗓️ : Birth - Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb, French racing driver "Sébastien Loeb (French pronunciation: [sebastjɛ̃ lœb]; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He holds several other..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Morio

26th February 1924 🗓️ : Birth - Noboru Takeshita Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000) "Noboru Takeshita (竹下 登, Takeshita Noboru, 26 February 1924 – 19 June 2000) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989 during the bubble economy.Takeshita led the largest faction at the time in the Liberal Democratic Party, which he inherited from Kakuei Tanaka,..."

Image licensed under CC BY 4.0? by 内閣官房内閣広報室

26th February 1821 🗓️ : Death - Joseph de Maistre Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753) "Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (French: [də mɛstʁ]; 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with..."

Image by s:fr:Auteur:George Cogordan

26th February 🗓️ : Holiday - Liberation Day (Kuwait) "This is a list of holidays in Kuwait. Some dates given are according to the solar Gregorian calendar widely used internationally and some dates are according to the lunar Islamic calendar...."

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.6 (after 1950)

1951 – The Canadian Army enters combat in the Korean War. 1951 – The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more. The wreck is one of the worst rail disasters in American history. 1952 – Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya. 1958 – Eight Manchester United F.C. players and 15 other passengers are killed in the Munich air disaster. 1959 – Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit. 1959 – At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished. 1973 – The Ms  7.6 Luhuo earthquake strikes Sichuan Province, causing widespread destruction and killing at least 2,199 people. 1976 – In testimony before a United States Senate subcommittee, Lockheed Corporation president Carl Kotchian admits that the company had paid out approximately $3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. 1978 – The Blizzard of 1978, one of the worst Nor'easters in New England history, hit the region, with sustained winds of 65 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour. 1981 – The National Resistance Army of Uganda launches an attack on a Ugandan Army installation in the central Mubende District to begin the Ugandan Bush War. 1987 – Justice Mary Gaudron becomes the first woman to be appointed to the High Court of Australia. 1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring Air Jordan and the Jumpman logo. 1989 – The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe. 1996 – Willamette Valley Flood: Floods in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States, causes over US$500 million in property damage throughout the Pacific Northwest. 1996 – Birgenair Flight 301 crashed off the coast of the Dominican Republic, killing all 189 people on board. This is the deadliest aviation accident involving a Boeing 757. 1998 – Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport. 2000 – Second Chechen War: Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile. 2006 – Stephen Harper becomes Prime Minister of Canada. 2012 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits the central Philippine island of Negros, leaving 112 people dead. 2016 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people. 2018 – SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, a super heavy launch vehicle, makes its maiden flight. 2021 – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suspends agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to send asylum seekers back to their home countries. 2023 – Two earthquakes measuring Mww 7.8 and 7.5 struck near the border between Turkey and Syria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). The earthquakes resulted in numerous aftershocks and a death toll of 57,658 people.

[insideusnet]

Japanese Leader's Trip to China in '72 Was Diplomatic Gamble : Inside US

Japanese Leader’s Trip to China in ’72 Was Diplomatic Gamble : Inside US

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese leader who normalized relations with China 50 years ago feared for his life when he flew to Beijing for the high-stakes negotiations at the height of the Cold War, according to his daughter, a former Japanese foreign minister. Kakuei Tanaka’s mission to normalize relations with China just two months after taking office was a huge…

[dancerkochan]

👨‍⚖️07/27政治を考える日🇯🇵 1976年のこの日、ロッキード事件で田中角栄前首相（当時）が逮捕されたことによります。 https://youtu.be/f7pKGWgBnps 👨‍⚖️ 07/27 Day to think about politics 🇯🇵 This is because former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (then) was arrested in the Lockheed scandal on this day in 1976. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgfb1JVBaEt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[anamon-book]

日本列島改造論　田中角榮 日本工業新聞社

[whatisonthemoon]

US-Funding in Post-War Japan

Excerpted from "Kishi and Corruption: An Anatomy of the 1955 System" by Richard J. Samuels (Japan Policy Research Institute - Working Paper No. 83, December 2001)

Using American Money

Kishi brilliantly exploited American paranoia about communism during the Cold War. The historian Michael Schaller reports that Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II convinced Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that the United States had to support Kishi or risk losing the alliance. Kishi returned triumphant from his June 1957 visit to Washington with promises that the security treaty would be revised and, possibly, with promises of secret funding from the Central Intelligence Agency. There have been rumors for decades about a secret "M-Fund" that was constructed out of surplus military materiel that came under allied control at the war's end in 1945. These stockpiles allegedly included rare metals and diamonds, proceeds from the sale of which were used by General Marquat, chief of SCAP's Economic and Science Section (hence "M"-Fund) as a sort of Japan-specific secret Marshall Plan to stimulate the postwar Japanese economy. The Fund was probably also used to underwrite the sudden (and unbudgeted) formation of the National Police Reserve at the start of the Korean War and to buy conservative political support for the alliance with the United States.According to journalists, M-Fund disbursements went to two channels. One was to mainstream conservatives led by Yoshida Shigeru. A separate channel was purportedly opened to Kishi Nobusuke to help sustain the anti-mainstream group. Both were allegedly managed jointly with U.S. officials. Former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Norbert Schlei alleges that Vice President Nixon turned over exclusive control of the M-Fund to Kishi (presumably during their 1957 Washington meeting) and that this was when things changed: "Beginning with Prime Minister Kishi, the Fund has been treated as a private preserve of the individuals into whose control it has fallen. Those individuals have felt able to appropriate huge sums from the Fund for their own personal and political purposes. . . . The litany of abuses begins with Kishi who, after obtaining control of the fund from (then Vice President Richard) Nixon, helped himself to a fortune of one trillion yen. . . . Kakuei Tanaka, who dominated the Fund for longer than any other individual, took from it personally some ten trillion yen. . . . Others who are said to have obtained personal fortunes from the Fund include Mrs. Eisaku Sato . . . and Masaharu Gotoda, a Nakasone ally and former chief cabinet secretary."All, some, or none of this may be true, but we know for certain that Kishi and his brother Sato Eisaku frequently approached Ambassador MacArthur to play the anti-communist card in the hope of securing financial support. According to Kishi's own account, he frequently used the good offices of his friend, Harry Kern, a former Newsweek Bureau Chief, to make arrangements for him at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo. Declassified U.S. State Department records note efforts by Sato, then Kishi's Finance Minister, to seek U.S. funds "to combat extremist forces." In July 1958, Sato met secretly with one S. S. Carpenter, the First Secretary of the U.S. Embassy. According to Carpenter's declassified memorandum of a conversation on July 25, 1958, Sato explained that a "secret organization (of) top business and financial leaders" had been established by the LDP and that this group had "contributed heavily" to the recent electoral campaign. Sato explained that they would shortly have to return to these business leaders for an expensive upper house campaign and felt that the LDP and the zaikai could not "combat communism" alone. If there was already an M-Fund to cover these requests, Carpenter did not let on. He told Sato that the Ambassador "had always tried to help Mr. Kishi and the Conservatives in every way possible,"but he declined to authorize the funds Sato was seeking. In short, it is plausible but not yet demonstrable that Kishi Nobusuke played a central role in establishing a financial relationship between conservative Japanese politicians and the government of the United States.

[whitewavewinemaker]

Tanaka Kakuei

One of my favs, and a very important figure in early modern Japanese politics. 

The shadow shogun, Tanaka Kakuei, a ground breaking figure of the Japanese political machine. 

born in 1918 in Niigata on the island on Honshu. The west coast of which was rather poor compared to the areas nearing Tokyo. He was the only son among 6 daughter. We know very little about his younger life since most of what we know comes from him. Tanaka built up a image as a man of the people. So much of what he wrote of himself was to fit this image. According to him the family farm went under and his father became a drunk, so at 16 he left for the city. At this time many young people flooded to Tokyo. He claimed to have been treated like just another farm boy in the big city. Tanaka did manage to recieve a degree in architectural drafting. His career in construction soon ended as he was enlisted in 1939. 

Sent to Manchuria he worked as a desk worker but was discharged only about a year later due to pneumonia. He returned home and became a war time construction tycoon where he married Sakamoto Hana. Towards the end of world war two he was sent to Korea with a large grant from the Japanese government to set up a construction company. Japan surrendered while he was there, pocketing the money he quickly returned to Japan. 

His first run for office came in 1946 but he only won 4%. Tanaka then took up his greatest strength, networking. That next year he would rank 3rd in his party of Minshuto and slowly work his way up the political scene. Through this networking he became close to Yoshida Shigeru (who I will write about), this friendship wouldn’t last however. The money he pocketed came to light and Tanaka went under investigation. Shigeru saw it as too risky, booting him from his office and distancing himself from Tanaka, dispite charges being dropped in 1957. Tanaka remarked on the incident saying “you can’t claim to be a man if you fear prison”. He became a staple in the LDP party after it’s formation in 1955. 

Tanaka is most famously, or infamously, known for his bribing. Since Tanaka owned a successful construction business and was a political figure, he used “business transactions” to keep political allies loyal. he was also rather quick tongued. Using the anti-left beliefs of the cabinet as weaponry against opponents.  This act of calling your opponents “anti-Japanese leftists” is still widely used in Japanese politics today. Despite all the scandals he remained in power due to his promises of reform in Niigata and his image as a man of the people. One of his more famous groups focused on bringing government money “over the mountains” and to Niigata on the opposite shore of Japan. Often he used Japanese cultural practices to further his goals. When a political ally would mention a hardship to him, that hardship disappeared. While he would not verbally use this against then, there is a cultural expectation of repayment. One diet member who refused such offers of money was simply given a very generous wedding gift. In Japan it is customary to receive money as a wedding gift, if he refused it would be seen as rude, if he accepted then he owed Tanaka. He even gave such gifts to opposition members so he had a foot in both sides of Japanese politics. He was so well known for his loyal followers that they became known as “Tanaka Gundan”, the Tanaka army. 

He also made his way into the bureaucratic. in the 60′s and 70′s he received two major titles: “minister of finances” and “minister of international trade”. he complimented and gave lavish gifts to others in the bureaucracy. He had such a hand in all fields that he often settled disagreements between branches. Using these ties he got a large bullet train built in Niigata, it was larger than the area it served. It was said Japan wasn’t a “democratic state” or “socialist state”, it was a “Construction state”.  

Becoming prime minister in 1972 at the head of the LDP. Watergate over seas in America would have a chain effect on revealing many scandals in many countries. He was tied to the Lockheed scandal and was arrested for such connections. Connections to far right wing underground king pin of the Yakuza and convicted war criminal, Kodama Yoshiro (will write about), were also exposed. Due to the arrest he could no longer be Prime Minister. This arrest and conviction caused a huge political uproar. The lower house was dissolved to try and settle but Tanaka still didn’t loose his seat. The LDP did loose some seats but all of Tanaka’s army stayed. He was convicted in 1983, sentenced to 4 years and 5 million yen fine. Even though he was imprisoned he still won in a 400% margin against his closest rival for his seat. Since he still had a huge army in both the diet and bureaucracy he held massive amounts of power. To the point were all prime ministers were pretty much his puppet. If something was needed done, you went to Tanaka, not the prime minister. The working class viewed him as a martyr. He was a small town man getting arrested and held under by city folk. 

The Tanaka army was almost invisible, that was until three of his students broke the army apart. Takeshita Noboru, Hozawa Ichiro(will write about), and Kanamaru Shin took over 1/3rd of his followers using similar tactics to that of their teacher. Due to this stress, Tanaka did have a stroke which pulled him from the public for about 2 years. Even though the public didn’t see him he still won his seat again in 1987. When he was shown to the public again he lost almost all support, between extreme health issues, mild paralysis, and age he just wasn’t seen as capable. He passed away in 1993, but his student Hozawa Ichiro has continued his legacy. 

Tanak played a huge role in Japanese post-war politics. He is often called the Shadow Shogun due to his ability to rule behind the scenes. He also set a precedent when it came to scandals. Anyone who pays close attention to Japanese politics will start to realize that even though a figure has major scandals they may still receive a lot of support.  Some believe this to be because of figues like Tanaka Kakuei and Yoshida Shigeru, who helped restore Japan after the war while still have a number of scandals. He is a facinating figure who can offer a unique glimpse into Japanese political machine. 

[abandonwave]

I’m Sorry (Arcade), 1985.

[potteresque-ire]

This post is Part 2 of the five-part meta series on the Zhang Zhehan (張哲瀚) Incident, based on what has transpired up to 2021/08/22.

1) The 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) & the Yasukuni Shrine 2) Post-War Sino-Japanese Relations; “Every Chinese should visit the Yasukuni Shrine” 3) The Summer of 2021: The Brewing Storms for One 4) My Thoughts on Zhang’s Incident, Part A 5) My Thoughts on Zhang’s Incident, Part B

2) Post-War Sino-Japanese Relations; “Every Chinese should visit the Yasukuni Shrine”

Chairman Mao actually … thanked the Japanese government repeatedly for the latter’s actions in World War II. As early as 1956, he met with Endō Saburō, a former Lieutenant-General of the Imperial Japanese Army who served between the 1930s and 1940s, and said:

你們也是我們的先生，我們要感謝你們。正是你們打了這一仗，教育了中國人民，把一盤散沙的中國人民打得團結起來了 

“You are our teachers too; we have to thank you. It’s exactly because you started this war, you taught the people of China, united the once scattered Chinese people”. 

He expressed gratitude towards the Japanese invasion for similar reasons in 1960, 1961, 1964, 1970. In 1964, he further explained why he was thankful to Kōzō Sasaki, then leader of the Japanese Socialist Party. 

To understand the following conversations, here’s some more background: the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 interrupted the civil war between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The parties declared a truce to fight the Japanese together, but the KMT, still in control of China and with a proper military, had to shoulder most of the responsibility of the fight. Meanwhile, the CCP was able to strengthen its own militia away from the battle front. 90% of the casualties of the Second Sino-Japanese War were KMT troops, which would provide CCP the critical advantage to win the civil war in 1949 and seize control of China.

Here’s the conversations between Sasaki and Mao in 1964:

佐佐木：「今天聽到了毛主席非常寬宏大量的講話。過去，日本軍國主義侵略中國，給你們帶來了很大的損害，我們大家感到非常抱歉。」 毛澤東：「沒有什麽抱歉。日本軍國主義給中國帶來很大的利益，使中國人民奪取了政權，沒有你們的皇軍，我們不可能奪取政權。這一點，我和你們有不同的意見，我們兩個人有矛盾。」 (眾笑，會場活躍） 佐佐木：「謝謝。」

毛澤東：「……。我們為甚麽要感謝日本皇軍呢？就是日本皇軍來了，我們和日本皇軍打，才又和蔣介石合作。二萬五千軍隊，打了八年，我們又發展到一百二十萬軍隊，有一億人口的根據地。你們說要不要感謝啊？」

Sasaki: “Today I heard Chairman Mao’s very generous, forgiving speech. In the past, Japanese Imperialism invaded China, brought you much harm and damages. We all felt very sorry.” Mao: “Nothing to be sorry about. Japanese Imperialism brought about a lot of benefits to China, allowed the Chinese people to take control of the government. Without your Imperial Army, we couldn’t have taken control of the government. To this point, I have different opinion from you. We have conflicts.” (Everyone laughed, the atmosphere was spirited) Sasaki: “Thank you.”

(Later) Mao: “ …. Why do we have to thank the Imperial Japanese Army? Because the Imperial Japanese Army came, and so we cooperated with Chiang Kai-Shek again. (We started with) An army of 25,000, eight years of fighting later, we developed into a 1,200,000 army with a stronghold of 100 million people. You say, doesn’t that require a thanks?”

Chairman Mao was equally explicit about his gratitude in his 1972 meeting with Kakuei Tanaka, no longer just a Japanese politician—Tanaka was the Prime Minister of Japan:

毛澤東：「如果沒有日本侵華，也就沒有共產黨的勝利，更不會有今天的會談。……這就是歷史的辯證法嘛。」 

Mao: “If Japan didn’t invade China, there wouldn’t have been the victory of the Chinese Communist Party, there wouldn’t be today’s meeting… that’s historical dialectics.”

Expectedly, perhaps, no one in China mentions these conversations anymore, even though they are known by at least some Chinese netizens—the internet-that-doesn’t-forget remembers that these conversations had once been discussed in China, including on proper news sites. Scholars have attempted to explain Mao’s attitude, their hypothesis including 1) Mao meaning that the Imperial Japanese Army had taught China a lesson in needing to be united, and it was only for that lesson that he was thankful; 2) Chairman Mao was only being practical, stating the objective facts; 3) Chairman Mao was being darkly humorous (!!).

Chairman Mao also waived China’s rights to demand war reparations from Japan in the Japan–China Joint Communiqué of 1972. In return, Japan recognised China as the One China and the “owner” of Taiwan, and severed its diplomatic ties with the island. In 1978, the two countries signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship and in 1979, Japan began its 40 years of development assistance to China ~ helping the latter to build infrastructure in the early years (ex. building power stations, railroads), to urbanise (ex. building water and gas supply, sewage systems, subways), and to protect the environment in the latter years as China became a developed country. The total sum of assistance amounted to 3.65 trillion JPY (~33 billion USD), and for most years up to 2005, made up more than 50% of the foreign aid China received from the Development Assistance Committee—which many, including people in Japan, have viewed as Japan’s way of paying its war reparations without an attached apology.

Foreign aid to China from Japan (Light Blue), vs. from the 30 members of the Development Assistance Committee that includes Japan, the U.S. and the E.U. (Dark Blue), between 1978 and 2016 (Source).

It may be worth mentioning that China had surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy in 2010, 8 years before the assistance ended. China had also become a major donor of foreign aid since 2000, with most of the money going to African countries.

During the same 40 years, meanwhile, diplomatic relations between Japan and China waxed and waned. The first 20 years, from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, were widely considered the “honeymoon” period, cumulating to Emperor Akihito’s visit to China in 1992. Since then, the relationship has deteriorated, become increasingly volatile. Japan’s treatment of its World War II history, including the historical revisionism in its textbooks and the visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese high officials such as Koizumi, were major reasons of conflict. Another major reason was territorial dispute, such as over the Senkaku / Diaoyu islands. In 2012, the latter sparked a large-scale, widely-reported anti-Japanese demonstrations in China. 

While most protestors were peaceful, violence also broke out, with protestors storming into and looting Japanese-owned businesses and manufacturing plants, flipping over Japanese cars and attacking their (Chinese) drivers...

Wait! You may be exclaiming now. Large-scale demonstrations? in China? That the foreign press was well informed about?

Anti-Japan demonstration in Chengdu, China, on 2012/08/19 (Source)

* Nods *. There were whispers, therefore, that the demonstrations were government-sanctioned. Police reportedly encouraged passer-bys to join in, and some protestors claimed that state-controlled agencies took them to the demonstration sites in tour buses. The Chinese government rarely authorised protests, after all, and these demonstrations had spread to > 80 cities before the government appealed for restraint, as the demands of the protests eventually turned towards itself.

But this trend of using Japan’s World War II transgressions to fuel patriotism and nationalism among the Chinese people hasn’t ceased. The emotions attached to them have also steadily intensified, at least on the surface; on social media, those who are the loudest are often mistaken as those who are the majority, and the most fervently nationalistic Chinese netizens are known to be extremely loud even beyond Chinese borders (see: the paid “50-cent army”; the unpaid Little Pinks). And since Xi Jinping’s becoming the leader of China in 2012, the Chinese government has set up three memorial days to commemorate the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II: December 13th, the Memorial Day for the Nanking Massacre, September 3rd, Memorial Day for Japan’s Formal Surrender in World War II, and September 30th, Martyr’s Day, which remembers all those who died in battles against foreign powers. 

2020/12/13, Gg’s Weibo post for the Memorial Day of the Nanking Massacre (forwarded from CCTV news). The graphic says Nanking (南京); 300,000 is the estimated death count of the massacre. Gg added the following text: “Remember history, treasure peace, our generation shall strength ourselves”.

While a national tragedy of such scale certainly deserves its dedicated days of remembrance, it’s worth noting that close to the event when such remembrances would’ve soothed its people the most, Mao and his CCP regime rarely mentioned China’s war efforts, likely because the memories were still fresh then that it was the KMT who had made the most significant contribution. Mentions of the war continued to the discouraged during the 1980s and 90s, so not to destroy the “Sino-Japanese friendship” (a hospital named “China-Japan Friendship”, built in 1984, still stands in Beijing).

Now that the generations who remembered the war first-hand have mostly passed away, the current narrative of the war highlights the sacrifice of Chinese Communist Party members, who, while having contributed to the war effort, were fighting in far smaller numbers than the KMT government.

The effect is this: it made the Chinese Communist Party rule, which actually started after the war in 1949, sound longer than it really was. It also makes the current government appear to be the heir apparent of China’s history, the rightful avenger for all the past “insults” China had faced, particularly during the “Century of humiliation” between late 19th and early 20th century in which the late Qing Dynasty and the KMT government had signed multiple treaties with foreign powers after war losses, and/or being too weak to negotiate favourable terms. These so-called “Unequal Treaties” had forced the Qing dynasty and the KMT government to pay significant war reparations, and when they couldn’t afford them, were forced to open up trade ports, and cede lands—hence, the Insult to China, the Humiliation. 

The fury, the “out for blood” vengefulness the Chinese state propaganda machine has fuelled with this emphasis of China’s being wronged, bullied in the past, legitimises the state’s aggressive “warrior wolf” diplomacy of 2021. The warrior wolf diplomacy is characterised by being combative to the point of hostile, and has been opined as being more detrimental to the perception of China beyond its borders than COVID-19. Such style of diplomacy is however welcomed by many Chinese government supporters, who view such verbal acts of aggression as China finally … kicking the ass of the “Imperial West”, and further fuels their nationalistic sentiment.  

Political cartoon by one of the most well known China-born political cartoonist and activist, Badiucao 巴丟草 (Instagram), who is now based in Australia. Winnie the Pooh has been censored in China due to the netizen’s (once benign) comparison of the cartoon character with Xi ~ they thought they looked alike. (Source)

So, does the Chinese people actually hate Japan?

This is an interesting question. Anti-Japan sentiments among Chinese have run consistently high on recent polls. A Pew Research poll reported that the percentage of Chinese interviewees expressing a negative view towards Japan rose from 70% to 81% between 2006 and 2016. In a 2017 BBC poll, the percentage was 75% (Source; p. 20). Even among university students, a generation untouched by the war, > 50% expressed dislike towards Japan.

Meanwhile, Chinese—the younger generation especially—also embrace different aspects of Japanese culture, and most of them get along just fine with Japanese on the ground level (example: SDOC4). Notably, Chinese loves visiting Japan. The number of Chinese visiting Japan, the money they spent while visiting, have both increased fairly steadily while political tensions between the two countries have escalated. In 2019 (the last year unaffected by COVID), Japan was the most popular country for Chinese tourists to visit, and Chinese tourists spent more in Japan than anywhere else. Looking from Japan’s side, Chinese tourists made up the highest percentage of their international visitors (at 30%, 10x the visitor count from the U.S.), and contributed the most to Japanese economy.

(Chinese tourists in Japan have been the focus of cultural-clashing controversies from the tourists’ conduct, as well as amusing snippets such as their love of Japan’s electronic toilet seats).

When these Chinese tourists visit Japan, do they visit the Yasukuni Shrine?

The exact numbers aren’t known, but the answer is yes. Visits to the shrine hadn’t been taboo either; the Global Times Network, of the (in)famous Chinese state-run tabloid The Global Times 環球時報 ’s fame, published an article in 2017 that urged every Chinese to visit the Yasukuni Shrine once, to “look at the filthiest souls of Japan”: 

Screenshot of the title of the 2017/08/15 Global Times Network article ... in case it is taken offline later.

The reporter of the article (hereby referred to as “The Reporter”) mentioned he had been there twice. He gave a fairly detailed account of his visit, and took lots of photos.

The article is … too nutrient-deficient to warrant a manual translation of the full text. However, as this article is a showcase of the double-standard re: Zhang’s behaviour, I’m translating the conversations that made up The Reporter’s perceived behaviour on the grounds of the shrine:

Convo 1:

(As a security of the shrine came over) Translator for The Reporter: “You talked in Chinese just now. The Japanese who work at the Yasukuni Shrine mostly have right-wing thoughts, and will not be friendly to us when they hear Chinese.” The Reporter (clears his throat, raises his voice): “Oh, really!!”

Convo 2:

(In the Yushukan, the museum at the Yasukuni Shrine) The Reporter: “Do you know what this place is about?” An American Tourist: “Something like remember the war?”  The Reporter: “Don’t you know the people here do not welcome Americans?”  An American Tourist: “Really? But so what? We beat them.” 

Convo 3:

Context: The Reporter attempted to gain access to the inner temple of the shrine, the access of which was restricted to worshippers. As he described in the article: “This time, Lao Huan Huan (referring to himself) even bore a heart of fight-picking, wished to test if Chinese can worship in the inner temple like the Japanese.”  (這一次，老環環還本著一顆挑事的心，想試試中國人是否也能像日本人一樣，走到神社內殿去參拜。) He was stopped by the shrine’s staff. The Reporter noted that his translator was not with him, and both his English and the staff’s English weren’t good.

The Reporter: “I want to enter the inner temple.”  Staff A: “No. Chinese can’t.”  The Reporter: “Really? Are there clear rules saying Chinese cannot worship? (If yes, I can make news.)  Staff A: “Koreans also can’t”.  The Reporter: “You mean the Yasukuni Shrine forbids worshipping by Chinese and Koreans?”  Staff A: “Taiwanese can’t.”  The Reporter: “Taiwanese are Chinese too!”  Staff A: “I’ll go find someone who speaks English well. Please wait.”  …

Staff B: “What’s the matter?”  The Reporter: “I want to enter the inner temple.”  Staff B: “No.”  The Reporter: “Why not? Chinese and Koreans are forbidden to enter?”  Staff B: “Only Japanese can enter.”  The Reporter: “Are there clear rules saying so?”  Staff B: “… (silent for 5 minutes, discuss with others)” Staff B: “It has nothing to do with nationality. The reason is religion. Only Shinto believers are allowed to enter.” The Reporter: “I believe it, I believe it when I was in China. I want to know why I can’t enter.”  Staff B: “… (again discuss with others for a long time)”  Staff B: “If you insist like this, I can only call the police. 

The message of these conversations (and the rest of the article) is as follows: it isn’t wrong for Chinese to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, as long as they have the right (hateful) attitude. They don’t even have to actually protest; The Reporter didn’t—he never made clear to the staff, or the tourist, the reasons why the Yasukuni Shrine upset him. Based on the conversations alone, which were the only clue to how others read his attitude, his behaviour there, one can very well argue The Reporter was unhappy with the exclusive visitor rules because he wished to worship the war criminals in the inner temple.

If this article is to go by—and remembering that it was published on one of the most prominent state-controlled online website—the only requirement for Chinese to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, and to take photos there, is … to harbour a fight-picking heart.

Photo of the Yasukuni Shrine, taken with spite, from the GTN article (Source).

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The Zhang Zhehan Incident Meta Series:

PART 1  PART 2 <- YOU ARE HERE PART 3 PART 4 PART 5