<prologue>
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”(Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多(がらくた)帳) in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka (Japanese short fixed form poems) are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多(がらくた)帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳(@historia49)さん / X
Since South Korea’s inauguration of President Moon Jae-in, “hostile actions” against Japan have not stopped. This goes far beyond the “anti-Japanese behavior” that has existed until now.
This hostile behavior toward Japan is a series of “hostile statements” similar to those that have been directed toward North Korea in the past.
On the other hand, Moon Jae-in treats North Korea like a “comrade.
Why is South Korean President Moon Jae-in so hostile toward Japan?
He served as secretary-general of the Lo-Moo-hyun administration, which adopted a pro-North Korea policy known as the “Sunshine Policy. As a result, his political stance is similar to that of former President Loo Moo-hyun (who committed suicide in 2009) in that he is “anti-Japan,” “pro-North Korea,” and “anti-U.S.”
Is he aiming for the Nobel Peace Prize by signing a peace treaty with North Korea?
It appears that he is trying to cover up his own misadventures and increase his own approval rating by appealing to “anti-Japanese sentiment” in response to growing public discontent against the backdrop of his country’s economic slump and high unemployment rate among the youth.
Seeking an outlet for public discontent in a foreign country is a move often used by cunning politicians.
As Arai Hakuseki also wrote in “Oritakushiba no Ki,” Joseon seems to have been a country that had been rude and unreasonably difficult to Japan for a long time.
1.Anti-Japanese Education in Korea
Anti-Japanese education” refers to ideological education aimed at instilling or inciting anti-Japanese sentiment.
On October 14, 1954, the Asahi Shimbun reported “Anti-Japanese Education Directive by South Korean President” as follows
Anti-Japanese Education in South Korea, President Lee Seung-man Instructs Nationwide [Gyeongseong 13, Reuters].
A spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of Education said on Thursday, “The president has instructed all educational facilities nationwide to emphasize anti-communist and anti-Japanese moral education to the same degree.
President Syngman Rhee ordered that students be taught how brutal, dictatorial, and barbaric the communists are compared to democratic governments and peoples, as well as the aggressiveness of Japanese imperialism and its malicious attitude toward Korea. This new directive also seeks to encourage teachers and professors to prepare their students for countermeasures against the Japanese plot to monopolize the Korean economy.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun of December 7, 1954, also reported the following
Anti-Communist, Anti-Japanese Lectures in South Korea [Kyungsung 6, AP].
South Korea’s Ministry of Education ordered all elementary and junior high schools in the country to hold special lectures at least once a week to teach students “anti-communist and anti-Japanese views.”
The reality is that such “anti-Japanese education” by the South Korean government has been openly continued for more than 60 years.
In South Korea, any “pro-Japanese” statements on territorial disputes or other issues in favor of Japan are branded as “unpatriotic” or “traitors.
2.Anti-Japanese Education in China
So what is China’s anti-Japanese education like?
According to Yoshihisa Komori, a former Sankei Shimbun journalist and special professor at Reitaku University, the following is written in a teacher’s manual of “Chinese History.
“We must have in our hearts a sincere resentment against Japanese imperialism, a sincere hatred against Chiang Kai-shek’s non-resistance, a sorrow for the loss of our land, and a sorrow for our country and its people.”
“We must be attentive to the atmosphere in the classroom so that our ideological education will be practically effective.”
The combination of the two images of “the burning furnace in which the Ishii Unit incinerated the corpses of its victims” and “the germ experiments conducted by the Japanese invaders on the Chinese people” should stimulate the students’ thoughts and make them develop a strong resentment toward the Japanese imperialists for their crimes in invading China.”
Regarding the “Nanjing Massacre,” “Expose the cruelty and barbarism,” “Teachers should make students seriously read the part about the atrocities committed by the Japanese army so that the deep resentment and fierce anger against Japanese imperialism will be engraved in their hearts,” and “Make students remember the time lapse and number of people killed during the Nanjing Massacre.”
3.About History Education
The above “history education” in Korea and China is clearly “biased ideological education that distorts the facts. Each country may be free to make up its own history to suit its own needs, but I feel that “history education” in these two countries is nothing more than “hate speech by the state against Japan.
And I think it is a very serious “interference in internal affairs” for these South Koreans and Chinese to complain about “Japanese history textbooks.
<Addition on 9/15/2019>
On the August 13th morning show, it was reported that a book criticizing anti-Japanese sentiment, titled “Anti-Japanese Racism,” has become a bestseller in South Korea. The authors of this book are six individuals, including Lee Young-hoon, an honorary professor at Seoul National University.
The book states that “the root cause of all crises in South Korea is anti-Japanese sentiment, and it directly challenges South Korea’s nationalist ideology from a new perspective, addressing hidden truths and issues such as the disputed Dokdo Islands and the comfort women problem.”
Concerns about the Moon Jae-in administration’s escalating anti-Japanese stance have begun to emerge within South Korea.
Additionally, Cho Kuk, the so-called “Onion Man” who recently became Minister of Justice, harshly criticized the book, calling its content “disgusting.”
In response to Cho Kuk’s criticism, Lee Young-hoon stated, “It is nothing more than the propaganda and incitement of despicable individuals not worth mentioning.”
4.Chinese Perception of History
It has long been said that the Chinese people believe that the most superior people in the world are the Chinese.
According to “How China’s Perception of History Was Created” (Toyo Keizai Inc., translated by Makoto Ito) written by Wang Zheng, it is necessary to know the three elements that support their pride and patriotism in order to understand the psychology of the Chinese people.
(1)electorate.
This goes back to ancient times. The ancient Chinese believed that they were a chosen people living in a holy land at the center of the world. As Chinese philosophy, customs, and script spread to neighboring countries and a “kind of master-disciple relationship” was established with them, they became strongly convinced of the universality and superiority of Chinese civilization, and a sense of electorate took deep root.
(2)Mythology
The story of an elected people has become a myth, which means that the story of an elected people has become deeply entrenched in the minds of the Chinese people.
(3)Trauma
However, this was shattered by the “century of shame” that followed the Opium War.
The “century of shame” consisted of the following six wars.
① First Opium War (1840-1842) ② Second Opium War (1856-1860) ③ Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) ④ Uihe Dan Incident (1900) ⑤ Manchurian Incident (1931) ⑥ Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
It should be noted that Japan was involved in up to four of the six wars mentioned above. In both the Sino-Japanese War and the Yihe Dan Incident, Japan won outright, while China was cruelly defeated. The Chinese side won the Sino-Japanese War, but this was only the result of Japan’s defeat by the US. Wang Zheng said that they are also hurt in their pride because of this.
Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), who became the first president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is said to have repeatedly written in his diary, “I will write down measures to destroy the Japanese and to clear the stigma that has brought shame on the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The trauma of the Chinese was born from their defeat in battle against the Japanese, whom they regarded as inferior to themselves.
Wang Zheng emphasizes that one cannot truly understand the current behavior of the Chinese people or the global strategy of the CCP regime without understanding the sense of electorate that is embedded deep within Chinese society, a psychology and complex that is a combination of the myth of Chinese greatness and the trauma of having it shattered.