The fact that China and the US is competing on everything from currency to coal mines throughout every corner of the world is no longer a matter of speculation in many ways. The battles of words and speculative skirmishes in the cyberspace is only a sure sign of what will become the biggest national rivalry in the world since the Cold War. But while the Cold War remained largely "with us or against us" for both sides throughout, the current "frenemy" (friend + enemy) relations between the two involves much interdependence and overlap of interest.
And in that overlap of interest emerges a group of players largely torn between the two giants, forced to play a balancing game between the two for political, military, and most importantly, economic reasons. Probably the most important of these middling powers is Japan, who sees China as the biggest trading partner (imports and exports) and the US as the biggest political one. To please but not over-pleasing either one has been conscious in the Japanese government agendas.
As the recent bouts of political trouble has shown, political clash with China has triggered major upheaval in the national sentiments, but at the same time, the continuing American military presence is not without protests. On one side is an emerging China threatening Japanese interests, and on the other, a continuously dominant America determined to keep the lid on independent Japanese political voice in the international arena.
While the uncertainty of Japanese government is very clear, perhaps what matters much more for the future stability of Japanese balancing act, the attitude of her people should be more clearly examined. A few things are clear and does not need deep analyses. First, the image of China in Japan, just like it is anywhere else, is extremely negative. The Tibet issue, the blockage of media, and even the harsh reaction of Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Prize have all cemented the image of China as a dangerous backward country without freedoms.
Yet, the behavior of US government is not much better (surprisingly). Although the general Japanese audience is very sensitive about expressing their opinions of the US government, when squeezed enough, they tend to lash out against it as well. American unilateralism in the Middle East has surely justified Japanese view of the US as an arrogant tyrant dictating the world order. So in terms of governments, its pretty much a choice between two evils.
What about the peoples? Personal experiences for the individual Japanese and the words of the Japanese media heavily influence the Japanese views of foreigners in general and especially for these two countries. In all honesty, even though there are millions of Chinese living in Japan, there is very little exposure by the common Japanese people to ordinary Chinese. The primary reason is the ability of Chinese people to mold into Japanese society, especially in second generations as they take up Japanese citizenships, names, and cultures.
In contrast, Americans generally stand out hugely throughout Japanese society. Japanese who have lived in the States tend to play up the American-ness in the entertainment industry, while, as it is everywhere else, the Hollywood movies have gave largely positive stereotypes of Americans, which somehow passed along to the average American living in Japan. The willingness of people to learn English (see Rakuten) has only increased the status of the Americans (even more than people from other English-speaking countries).
But as a forecast for the future, perhaps it will be more and more important for the Japanese to recognize the Chinese person outside of his or her government. There is already strong understanding of the Chinese businessperson as the economic relations of the two countries grow despite political issues, and slowly and surely Japanese are taking themselves to China not just for business and in much greater numbers. Along with increased Chinese tourism and immigration to Japan, there will be a day when the average Chinese will have to surpass the distant and mystic American as the most accepted foreigner simply in order for Japan to survive as a nation, economically and demographically.
And in that overlap of interest emerges a group of players largely torn between the two giants, forced to play a balancing game between the two for political, military, and most importantly, economic reasons. Probably the most important of these middling powers is Japan, who sees China as the biggest trading partner (imports and exports) and the US as the biggest political one. To please but not over-pleasing either one has been conscious in the Japanese government agendas.
As the recent bouts of political trouble has shown, political clash with China has triggered major upheaval in the national sentiments, but at the same time, the continuing American military presence is not without protests. On one side is an emerging China threatening Japanese interests, and on the other, a continuously dominant America determined to keep the lid on independent Japanese political voice in the international arena.
While the uncertainty of Japanese government is very clear, perhaps what matters much more for the future stability of Japanese balancing act, the attitude of her people should be more clearly examined. A few things are clear and does not need deep analyses. First, the image of China in Japan, just like it is anywhere else, is extremely negative. The Tibet issue, the blockage of media, and even the harsh reaction of Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Prize have all cemented the image of China as a dangerous backward country without freedoms.
Yet, the behavior of US government is not much better (surprisingly). Although the general Japanese audience is very sensitive about expressing their opinions of the US government, when squeezed enough, they tend to lash out against it as well. American unilateralism in the Middle East has surely justified Japanese view of the US as an arrogant tyrant dictating the world order. So in terms of governments, its pretty much a choice between two evils.
What about the peoples? Personal experiences for the individual Japanese and the words of the Japanese media heavily influence the Japanese views of foreigners in general and especially for these two countries. In all honesty, even though there are millions of Chinese living in Japan, there is very little exposure by the common Japanese people to ordinary Chinese. The primary reason is the ability of Chinese people to mold into Japanese society, especially in second generations as they take up Japanese citizenships, names, and cultures.
In contrast, Americans generally stand out hugely throughout Japanese society. Japanese who have lived in the States tend to play up the American-ness in the entertainment industry, while, as it is everywhere else, the Hollywood movies have gave largely positive stereotypes of Americans, which somehow passed along to the average American living in Japan. The willingness of people to learn English (see Rakuten) has only increased the status of the Americans (even more than people from other English-speaking countries).
But as a forecast for the future, perhaps it will be more and more important for the Japanese to recognize the Chinese person outside of his or her government. There is already strong understanding of the Chinese businessperson as the economic relations of the two countries grow despite political issues, and slowly and surely Japanese are taking themselves to China not just for business and in much greater numbers. Along with increased Chinese tourism and immigration to Japan, there will be a day when the average Chinese will have to surpass the distant and mystic American as the most accepted foreigner simply in order for Japan to survive as a nation, economically and demographically.
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