China criticizes Japan's protest over question of Okinawa sovereignty. Global Times game lets players re-take Diaoyus, kill Japanese online. The nationalist paper Global Times has launched an online game called "Recover the Diaoyu Islands", which takes visitors on a People's Liberation Army vessel on a mission to reassert Chinese sovereignty over the island chain also claimed by Japan. The game, which seems to have been around for several months according to timestamps on comments, is yet another move by one of China's most popular media outlets to stoke nationalism in support of a more assertive foreign policy.
The island chain, also known as Senkaku in Japan, was handed to Japan by the US in a deal ending post-second world war administration of nearby Okinawa in 1972. Last year, the Japanese government nationalised ownership of the formerly privately owned islands. In April, China's Foreign Minsitry declared sovereignty over the islands a "core interest", putting its claims on par with those for Taiwan. "The Chinese nation's determination to protect the Diaoyu Islands is unwavering! " 2013-04-03 Former Japanese prime minister to meet with Chinese leader this weekend - The Japan Times - Pale Moon. Abe offers China quake help ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion - Pale Moon. 2011-10-17 Japan Intercepting Record Numbers of Chinese Planes. Here’s some interesting information about how China is becoming increasingly assertive in the Western Pacific.
Japanese fighters scrambled to intercept Chinese intelligence planes near or in Japanese airspace a record-setting 83 times between April and September of this year. This is three times the number of interceptions made by the Japanse Air Self Defense Force against Chinese planes during the same six-month period in fiscal year 2010, according to the Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun. The 83 scrambles against Chinese aircraft greatly exceeds the 24 in the first half of last year. This comes as China is fielding its first aircraft carrier, anti-ship ballistic missiles, a ton of spy satellites and even MRAPs. Oh yeah, it’s also developing a stealth fighter and a host of new UAVs. All this is to ‘protect that which is ours,’ say Chinese leaders. Now, the Pentagon isn’t just turning a blind eye to this. 2011 Japan Sendai Earthquake, Chinese Netizen Reactions.
Note from Fauna: A magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit northern Japan this afternoon at 2:46 pm, the largest earthquake in Japanese history. A tsunami followed, causing major flooding in many areas of Japan, as well as many strong aftershocks. The death toll so far is in the hundreds. When news of this disaster reached China, many Chinese netizens expressed condolences and their support for Japan and the Japanese, remembering that Japan eagerly helped the Chinese during China’s 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. At the same time, many others celebrated Japan’s misfortune, citing their grievances from past history. Below is a collection of photographs of Japan following the earthquake and tsunami and a selection of Chinese netizen comments on popular Chinese online video sharing website Tudou translated into English: A video of a Chinese news report on Tudou: Comments from Tudou: Essien M: Because its JapanI’m so happy 关内帅哥: gf: I don’t want to be like the mental retards on 2chan Futaba channel.
血的诅咒: fsy1987: 2011-04-09 China expands ban for importing food, farm produce from Japan. Updated: 2011-04-09 11:29 (Xinhua) BEIJING - China has expanded a ban on imported food and farm produce from Japan, in both varieties and places of origin, amid growing fears of radiation contamination. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement published on Friday said that starting from April 8, China banned imports of foodstuffs, edible farm produce, along with fodders from 12 areas in Japan, comparing only five Japanese counties being blacklisted on March 24. AQSIQ demanded that importers of food, edible farm produce and fodders from other Japanese areas should also provide documents issued by Japanese government agencies while applying for quality inspection and quarantine at customhouses across China.
The required documents include certificates for radioactivity-free inspection and for places of origin. Importers of Japanese aquatic products must go through formalities for quarantine inspection in advance. 2010-10-14 Japan says release of China's Liu Xiaobo 'desirable' 14 October 2010Last updated at 06:58 Liu Xiaobo was virtually unknown in China before Friday Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said the release by China of the detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is "desirable".
He told a parliamentary budget committee that he welcomed the award of the prize to Mr Liu, a proponent of political reform in China. China has expressed fury at the award and censored reporting of it. The government of Norway, where the Nobel prize is based, said China's reaction was "inappropriate". China described Mr Liu as a criminal who had broken China's laws, and said the award was an insult to China's judicial system. Neighbours "From the viewpoint that universal human rights should be protected across national borders, it is desirable" that Mr Liu be released, Mr Kan said in a response to questions by an opposition upper house lawmaker.
The prime minister did not issue any formal request for Mr Liu's release. Continue reading the main story Ongoing disputes.
2010.07.20 Dark wake-up call for Sino-Japanese ties. Dark wake-up call for Sino-Japanese ties By Iain Mills BEIJING - Harbin, provincial capital of Heilongjiang province in northeast China, is most famous for its European architecture and ice festival, when huge structures are carved out of frozen blocks and adorned with lights. However, a less pleasant history lurks in the city's southern Pingfang district. This otherwise unremarkable suburb has grown up around the former headquarters of Unit 731, Imperial Japan's notorious chemical warfare testing unit, and the complex remains largely untouched, a low-key memorial to a truly gruesome history.
Local authorities have been attempting to upgrade and expand the site for some time, and following a rejection from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to afford the site "World Heritage Status" last month, they have promised to redouble their efforts. The unit's former headquarters remain essentially untouched. Notes 1. Editorial / The Paradox of Sino-Japanese Relations / Special Reports / Current Affairs. 1972.09.29 MOFA: Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China. September 29, 1972 Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka of Japan visited the People's Republic of China at the invitation of Premier of the State Council Chou En-lai of the People's Republic of China from September 25 to September 30, 1972. Accompanying Prime Minister Tanaka were Minister for Foreign Affairs Masayoshi Ohira, Chief Cabinet Secretary Susumu Nikaido and other government officials.
Chairman Mao Tse-tung met Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka on September 27. They had an earnest and friendly conversation. Prime Minister Tanaka and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ohira had an earnest and frank exchange of views with Premier Chou En-lai and Minister for Foreign Affairs Chi Peng-fei in a friendly atmosphere throughout on the question of the normalization of relations between Japan and China and other problems between the two countries as well as on other matters of interest to both sides, and agreed to issue the following Joint Communique of the two Governments: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Sino-Japanese Studies. 2009-12-12 The DPJ’s management of China’s rise: from ‘hedging without reassurance’ to ‘reassurance without hedging’? Author: Yusuke Ishihara, ANU Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie recently issued a joint press statement which outlines a list of practical collaborations planned between Chinese and Japanese militaries, following their bilateral defence meeting in Tokyo on November 21.
Its most noteworthy component is their plan to conduct joint maritime rescue exercises and explore other forms of military-to-military communications and exercises, including humanitarian and disaster relief exercises. What does this new agreement indicate about Hatoyama’s China policy? One could assume that the agreement is a small but clear step by the new DPJ-led coalition government towards an improved Sino-Japanese relationship. Despite this impression, the agreement on joint military exercises is more the product of the continuity rather than a departure from the former LDP government’s China policy. 2010-01-05 A new start for Japan-China relations? Author: Reinhard Drifte After the Koizumi era, particularly since the beginning of the Hatoyama cabinet, Japan’s relations with China seem to be improving, and both sides have made encouraging statements.
Nevertheless, there are many contrasting developments that demonstrate the continuing fragility of the relationship. For the Japanese, there is a feeling that somehow bilateral problems will be resolved because both sides agree about the importance of a good relationship for their own national interests,and that China will always seek a compromise. The Japanese believe China needs Japan for a number of reasons, be it to protect its foreign image as a peacefully developing country, to maintain its export- and FDI-dependent economy, to cope with its environmental problems, or to reduce its energy consumption. The issue isn’t whether Japan and China will find long-term strategic stability or not, a point I am optimistic about.
The most sensitive issue for China is the future of Taiwan. 2010-07-29 China and the lessons of the past. Author: Amy King, Oxford In its 50th year, the US-Japan Security Treaty has come under scrutiny in Washington and Tokyo. Calls by former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama for a more equal place for Japan within the alliance, and the Hatoyama government’s fumbling over the Futenma base relocation, have caused tension in the bilateral relationship. At the same time, Hatoyama increased the rhetoric about building a more cooperative relationship with China, and is leading the charge for a stronger ‘East Asian Community’, which potentially excludes the United States. Together, these shifts depict a more assertive Tokyo that is at least beginning to consider the future of US-Japan relations and Japan’s place in Asia. More worryingly though, Tokyo’s assertive stance has led to the emergence of a ‘losing Japan’ narrative—a narrative which suggests the US risks losing Japan to China—in Washington and Western media more generally.
Yet these developments are not new. 2010-09-21 Beijing's unwanted spat with Tokyo. Yan Xu is a graduate student from the Department of International Relations, Tsinghua University in Beijing. He is an intern at the Lowy Institute. For some China watchers, the recent spat between China and Japan over a boat collision near the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands serves as a fresh evidence of Beijing's growing assertiveness. Indeed, it sounds reasonable enough to argue that China, after surpassing Japan to become the world's second largest economy (a position Japan has occupied for more than 40 years), would act more arrogantly towards its eastern neighbour.
However, I seriously doubt that Beijing would be glad to let its relationship with Tokyo freefall. In fact, since former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi stepped down in 2006, the two governments have made huge efforts to 'melt the ice' and made significant progress. Incidents similar to the recent one have happened before in this highly disputed area, and in the past, both sides refrained from taking provocative actions.
2012-08-27 Japan blocks landing on disputed islands to defuse China tensions. 2012-08-27 Japan protests after man seizes flag from ambassador's car in Beijing. Japan protests after man seizes flag from ambassador's car in Beijing Image by: Gallo Images/Thinkstock A man ripped a Japanese flag from a car carrying Japan's ambassador in Beijing on Monday, triggering a protest from Tokyo in the latest flare-up of a territorial row that provoked the worst anti-Japanese protests in years. The Japanese embassy issued a statement saying the ambassador, Uichiro Niwa, was unhurt in the incident. It said two other vehicles forced his car to stop and a man got out, broke off the Japanese flag and made off with it.
But Japan's Foreign Ministry later said the flag had been snatched after the ambassador's car had become stuck in a traffic jam. Both Japanese accounts said no one was injured and the car was otherwise undamaged. The embassy said it had "filed a strong protest with the Chinese Foreign Ministry". Tokyo also remains locked in a dispute with South Korea over another contested island chain. The resolutions prompted rebukes from Seoul and Beijing.