"About 150 years ago, Japan, an island nation, found itself in a
fateful crisis under the threat of Western colonialists. Japan
turned this crisis into a historical opportunity to discard the old
and regenerate itself, thereby building Asia's first modern
nation."
Thus began the opening narration of a TV program broadcast last
autumn by China Central Television, the country's leading network.
It was the seventh installment of a documentary series entitled
Rise of the Great Powers in modern times.
The objective viewpoint that set the series apart from
traditional history programs shown on Chinese TV attracted much
public attention.
The section on Japan, titled "100-Year Restoration", went to
great lengths to explain the "Iwakura mission", a nearly two-year
journey through the United States and Europe by Meiji Restoration
statesman Iwakura Tomomi and the work of new nation building.
Postwar Japan
After describing Japan's attempts to become an affluent military
power through its invasion of other Asian nations, the broadcast
concentrated on Japan's postwar development. It showed how Japan,
ruled by a constitution that gives sovereignty to the people and
renounces war, reemerged as a major power by building on strengths
developed since the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The program may signal a newfound willingness by China to judge
Japan as it really is. This was unimaginable just a few years
ago.
One apparent factor behind this new stance toward Japan is the
change of leadership in Tokyo. Former Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi infuriated China with his obstinate refusal to stop
visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
His successor, Shinzo Abe, visited China within weeks of taking
office. Abe's visit prompted Beijing to make renewed efforts to
improve its ties with Tokyo.
There are also signs of change in sentiment toward Japan among
the Chinese people. For instance, a sharply increased number of
Chinese applied for the Japanese language proficiency test held in
December. Chinese applicants surpassed 200,000, more than in any
other country or area. In Shanghai, where some 6,000 Japanese
companies are operating, 35,000 citizens applied for the test.
Increased contact with Japan fosters diversity in the Chinese
people's perceptions about Japan. That makes it harder for Chinese
to label Japan through stereotyped images. This trend is likely to
accelerate. For example, a new radio program was launched in
Beijing on New Year's Eve called Tokyo Music Square. It features
popular Japanese songs and hot topics about Japan.
The radio show is hosted by nonfiction writer Akiko Aoki, who
regularly travels between Japan and China, and Zhao Haidong. They
were chosen because another radio program they hosted in the past
produced a legion of ardent fans of Japanese pop music in China.
Hoping to repeat that success, the Japanese government proposed the
new program, and China agreed.
Japan pop music
"I want to use this program to introduce ordinary aspects of
Japan and ordinary Japanese people to Chinese audiences," says
Aoki, "because even basic facts about Japan have not been made
widely known among Chinese people."
Meanwhile, some Japanese universities are using teleconferencing
systems and other means to increase opportunities for their
students to have direct contact with China. For the past several
years, Tokyo's Waseda and Keio universities have jointly offered
lectures featuring teleconference discussions between their
students and those of Peking and Tsinghua universities in Beijing,
along with universities in Taipei and South Korea. In these
lectures, the students discuss a variety of familiar topics in both
Japanese and Chinese.
Kazuko Sunaoka, a Waseda University professor of Chinese
language who had initiated this program, says students of the two
countries often discover they have much in common through these
bilingual conversations.
It is not easy for Japanese and Chinese to really understand
each other because of differences in political systems and memories
about the war. Still, various tentative efforts are being made in
both countries to observe each other more accurately for better
understanding. These important efforts should be encouraged and
supported.
(China Daily via agencies January 19, 2007)
