Status quo vadis?
Posted by ampontan on Sunday, August 19, 2012
Most people who look at the above photograph of a Japanese gymnast from Getty Images might think it was a striking shot of the competition from the recent London Olympics, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Most people who live outside of South Korea.
Bak Yong-Sung, head of the South Korean Olympic Committee, testified at an emergency meeting of the Korean National Assembly’s Committee on Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting & Communications on Friday. He said:
“After consultation with the attorneys of the (South Korean) Olympic Committee, we have decided that rather than deal with this alone, we should work with all the countries that were (Japanese) victims in World War II. We will work with the government to study which methods would be the most effective to oppose this.”
By oppose this, he meant the gymnastics uniform. The reporter for Asia Economy, the Korean-language site where the article ran, explained:
The point at dispute is the “rising sun flag” that represents militarism….The gymnastics team appeared wearing this uniform with those associations, but they were not subject to special restrictions by the International Olympic Committee. Rather, the IOC recognized that it was within the bounds of (legitimate) expression. The IOC prohibits uniforms that have associations with Nazi designs, but they did not uphold the regulations they formulated themselves.”
The reporter continued by complaining that this violation of Olympic rules was worse than the Korean soccer player’s pitch trot with the Dokdo banner. That’s because the Japanese offense was premeditated and the Korean act was on the spur of the moment.
Now do you see what I mean by “arrested development”?
The Japanese flag with all the rays, by the way, is based on symbols used for centuries to denote auspicious occasions and on samurai family crests, particularly in Kyushu. In modern Japan, it has been used only as a naval flag. It was the flag of the Imperial Navy, and it is still used by the Maritime Self-Defense Forces.
Meanwhile, this poster calling for demonstrations against the Japanese popped up all over China this weekend.
The first two large red characters at the left are those for the city of Nanjing, where this demonstration was held. The first words at the left in the inscription under the large, full-width photograph say, “Slogan: Smash Small Japan!”.
Yeah, it does say “small”. How thoughtful of them to save people the trouble of thinking up slogans on their own. (There’s another slogan to the right of that one.)
But here’s the real news: With only a change in place names, the identical posters calling for demonstrations also appeared in Jinan. And Hangzhou. And Qingdao. And Dalian. Nanjing is down in the south, and Dalian is up north.
It must have been one of those spontaneous outpourings of emotion by the Chinese people that occurs from time to time.
The Northeast Asian status quo…where did it go?
Nobody has any idea what this incipient Cold War will lead to, but one thing is certain. Quite a few people in this part of the world are going off the rails, and none of them live in Japan.
Afterwords:
But don’t expect the foreign news media to catch the drift. As reader Yankdownunder commented earlier, they have a peculiar narrative.
An article from Reuters that appeared today is a case in point. It is credited to Linda Sieg, who’s represented that photo-doctoring organization in Japan for a few years now. It isn’t possible to say whether she’s only following the template created by her Reuters paymasters, or whether she enthusiastically supports it. What is possible to say is that her product is third-rate journalism, even by contemporary standards.
The first sentence:
Several Japanese nationalists landed on Sunday on a rocky island in the East China Sea at the heart of a territorial row with Beijing, a move all but certain to fan anger in China and worsen ties between Asia’s two biggest economies.
Followed by:
Tensions flared last week after seven of a group of 14 Chinese activists slipped past Japan’s Coast Guard to land on one of the uninhabited isles and raise a Chinese flag.
When the nationalists go ashore on their own territory, it is sure to fan anger and worsen ties. On the other hand, the act of provocation was just some activists who caused tensions to flare…by deliberately entering a foreign country without authorization and with the intent of causing a diplomatic incident.
The islets have never been in Chinese possession and there is no record of any Chinese ever having lived there. They are now in Japanese possession and the original owner of the property operated a business there for 45 years, with his employees on the site. The Chinese recognized them as Japanese territory until the potential for seabed natural resources was discovered circa 1970.
Who are the nationalists, and who are the activists, eh Linda?
Wait, I’ll answer that second question myself. The activists are Reuters reporters worldwide.
And the guild wonders why the news consuming public thinks so little of them.
Maybe, to steal a line from Fawlty Towers, it’s because their minds are like Swiss cheese. “Hard?” asked the Major. “No,” replied Basil. “Full of holes.”
toadold said
If I were the real King of Japan and I wanted to get a little respect from the neighbors:
First I’d change names and do some re-organizing; the SDF would now be the Imperial Armed Forces and their would be a Secretary of War. The Constitution wold be changed to allow first strike. The taxes and regulations would reduced to allow economic growth esp. for small businesses. This would increase tax revenue by way of Laffer effect. Which would enable an increase in military spending. No government civil employee could keep his job past 15 years. I’d go Swiss in that every adult between the ages of 18 and 45 who was of sound mind would be issued a military small arm and 200 rounds of ammunition and would be required to qualify with it once a year.
It would be announced that the Imperial Air Force would be in charge of the nuclear armed ICBM program. No need for trade wars, no need to re-call diplomats, or demand that they explain themselves. Pooh would run down the legs of just about everyone and the airports would be jammed with people who would want to talk, come to agreements, and knee walk to show how friendly they were.
Tony said
May as well as wish you were King of the world then too where all rivers are filled with Dr. Pepper, money grows on trees, and everyone not only gets along but bakes cinnamon buns as well.
————–
If I were the King of the World, the manufacture and sale of Dr. Pepper would be forbidden by Royal Edict. Perhaps within my first week on the throne.
When I lived in the US, every five years or so I would start to wonder what it was I didn’t like about Dr. Pepper, so I would buy one. It would take me another five years to forget.
And that cinnamon bun part would be changed to eclairs.
-A.
kujirakira said
Western media is a crock of bs.
And I think Korea is grasping for straws even trying to equate the uniform to Japan’s Naval Ensign.
But if Naval Ensigns used by Empires that’ve caused untold human suffering are such an issue — can we also get a ban on all Union Jacks?
Re: Toadold (because I have an obsession with history)
Problem is, Japan hasn’t had a “king” since the 7th century Temmu.
Just a lot of Bureaucrats, and a handful of military dictators — who were summarily drowned in Bureaucracy once power was consolidated.
With few exceptions, the imperial family has historically been a cultural icon and little else. And even the 7th century king-like ruler, Temmu, was one of those exceptions. His older brother, Tenji, personally led a coup killing Soga clan bureaucrats (including his grandfather) in the presence of his mother (whose father would be the grandfather) who was the reigning puppet at the time. She abdicated almost immediately in favor of her younger brother — who was then a puppet of her son, Tenji (also better known as Prince Naka-no-Oe at the time).
It should be noted, the reason of her abdication had nothing to do with politics or her ideological affiliations, but a reflection of the imperial family’s true role as cultural icons. Having been in the presence of such bloodshed (and blood being “dirty” in Japanese culture), she could not remain in that position. Neither could her son assume the position since his own hands were bloodied. Thus we’re left with her brother, who was nonetheless controlled by her son. Until some years later when she resumes being the puppet (still controlled by son); and then finally Tenji himself took the position before he died.
This event also led to the founding of the Fujiwara clan, split from the priestly Nakatomi, as the first Fujiwara was Tenji’s chief co-conspirator. Of course, ironically, the Fujiwara went on to become the most influential and dominant Bureaucratic power Japan had ever seen and essentially ruling the country throughout the entire Heian period. Even after which, we still see their influence in such clans as the Uesugi. Even during the Tokugawa Bureaucracy, we see Fujiwara Seika as a primary force. And Fujiwara family offshoots like the Honda and Ii as strong political figures.
———-
K: Thanks for the note.
Former Prime Minister Hosokawa is also part of the Fujiwara family, IIRC.
-A.
Hume's Bastard said
I wouldn’t call it “arrested development”. It’s bad faith.
21st Century Schizoid Man said
http://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/33304 A: this was interesting.
——–
2: That was interesting. I’ll see if I can find the time to translate it (or most of it) this week.
-A.
yankdownunder said
The country-wide demonstrations reflect lingering resentment among many Chinese over Japan’s World War Two occupation ….
By Chris Meyers
EAST CHINA SEA | Sun Aug 19, 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/19/us-japan-china-idUSBRE87I00F20120819
The anti-Japanese protests in part reflect bitter Chinese memories of Japan’s occupation of large parts of China in the 1930s and 1940s.
By Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO | Mon Aug 20, 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/20/us-japan-china-idUSBRE87I00F20120820
memories ??? Most if not all(“protestors”) were born after WW2 and have no memory of WW2. Western journalists always use this
memory excuse when writing about Korea/China and Japan.
It’s not memory that makes them hate. It’s state education that teaches them to hate. These journalists are either incredibly
naive or just biased if not racist.
21st Century Schizoid Man said
Yankdownunder: “It’s not memory that makes them hate. It’s state education that teaches them to hate. These journalists are either incredibly naive or just biased if not racist.” Plus, there are some like one Chinese (at more than average intellectual level) portrayed in the link I pasted in the above which A may translate.