I grew up hearing this adage; "He who is down needs fear no fall". In the case of the current Japan - China relationship, I believe the adage would be best adjusted to read "That which is down needs fear no fall".
The visit of the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni Shrine to pay his respects to Japanese war dead seems in my opinion to have come at the most opportune moment for Mr. Abe.
If we consider the already below sea level relationship between Japan and China since China's establishment of a "NO FLY" zone over the Senkaku Islands which it claims as part of its territory, one would understand that at a time when the relationship between these nations is at its lowest ebb, the Prime minster must certainly have calculated that the best time to visit the Yasukuni shrine is of course before beginning to or attempting to repair the already damaged relationship between both nations.
Yasukuni is a shrine that holds the remains of Japan's war dead. Quite unfortunately, some individuals who have been labeled or classified as war criminals are also interred in the same shrine. Now, going to pay one's respects to those who sacrificed their lives for their beloved nation is a practice that takes place in most nations across the globe and Japan should not be an exception. In some countries, it is known as the armed forces remembrance day.
Japan is a sovereign nation and holds the right to pay respect to its war dead regardless of what other nations think of the character of the fallen soldiers. While Japan (or the Japanese) may view them as war heroes, other nations reserve the right to view them as war criminals but do not have the right to dictate whether or not the memory of these fallen soldiers be honored.
I however, think that the way forward would be for Japan to take responsibility for its war history and crimes, offer unreserved apologias to the offended parties, stop rewriting its war history and move on. I think that the continuous denial and defense of its war history and crimes is the "Fons et origo" of its problems with other Asian countries. It would be best to toe the line of its wartime ally (Germany) in accepting and taking responsibility for its war past instead of trying to doctor the books. In fact we have the Chinese also offering the same piece of advice to their Japanese counterpart as seen in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-25751420 on the BBC News blog Echo Chambers.
The visit of the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni Shrine to pay his respects to Japanese war dead seems in my opinion to have come at the most opportune moment for Mr. Abe.
If we consider the already below sea level relationship between Japan and China since China's establishment of a "NO FLY" zone over the Senkaku Islands which it claims as part of its territory, one would understand that at a time when the relationship between these nations is at its lowest ebb, the Prime minster must certainly have calculated that the best time to visit the Yasukuni shrine is of course before beginning to or attempting to repair the already damaged relationship between both nations.
Yasukuni is a shrine that holds the remains of Japan's war dead. Quite unfortunately, some individuals who have been labeled or classified as war criminals are also interred in the same shrine. Now, going to pay one's respects to those who sacrificed their lives for their beloved nation is a practice that takes place in most nations across the globe and Japan should not be an exception. In some countries, it is known as the armed forces remembrance day.
Japan is a sovereign nation and holds the right to pay respect to its war dead regardless of what other nations think of the character of the fallen soldiers. While Japan (or the Japanese) may view them as war heroes, other nations reserve the right to view them as war criminals but do not have the right to dictate whether or not the memory of these fallen soldiers be honored.
I however, think that the way forward would be for Japan to take responsibility for its war history and crimes, offer unreserved apologias to the offended parties, stop rewriting its war history and move on. I think that the continuous denial and defense of its war history and crimes is the "Fons et origo" of its problems with other Asian countries. It would be best to toe the line of its wartime ally (Germany) in accepting and taking responsibility for its war past instead of trying to doctor the books. In fact we have the Chinese also offering the same piece of advice to their Japanese counterpart as seen in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-25751420 on the BBC News blog Echo Chambers.
Regardless of the statement just made in the preceding paragraph, I stand strong on my conviction that Japan as a sovereign nation should not be dictated to on whether or not it should honor its war dead regardless of whether they are labelled as war criminals in other nations or not.
Would one or should one not give honor to whom honor is due simply because there are some dishonorable people in their company? Or would you not express your salutations to your father because an uncle whom you hate is seated by him?
Japan, short of saying "we are sorry for the atrocities we meted out on fellow Asian nation" has worked hard to build the economies and technological know how of a great number of the nations in which they committed these atrocities with China and Korea benefiting the most from Japan directly or indirectly.
It seems to me that aside from territorial disputes between these Asian nations, the underlining reason for tension and some degree of animosity or hatred towards Japan expressed by these other nations is the fact that Japan, unlike Germany has found or made itself too big to say ”Ｗｅ did you wrong and we are truly sorry". This, I feel is the main reason why any move by Japan is viewed by China or Korea as "A DANCE OF ARROGANCE".
It is this perceived dance (coupled with the fact that Mr. Abe has been sounding the trumpet for the revision of Japan's constitution) that has prompted the Chinese to fly their "BANNER OF STRENGTH" by having the Chinese War fleet sail around Japan．This act alone was intended to induce shivers and quivers in the Japanese Bureaucrats. China appears to be playing to the fact that the US would not like to engage China in any form of warfare and would do almost anything (including the possibility of abandoning Japan) in the event of a breakout.
This thought pattern not only emboldens, it also encourages the Chinese to act without fear or caution especially because it is perceived by the Chinese that the US would prevail on Japan for the sake of peace to work out a way of exploring the disputed islands in partnership with the other claimants or give up claim to the islands altogether.
Anyway, with respect to Mr. Abe visiting the Yasukuni shrine, what better timing could there be than now? Mr. Abe is a shrewd politician and I am certain that his calculations were certainly based on the fact that the relationship between Japan and China at the moment is almost non existent so "Why not?"
Personally, I think it came in good timing considering that "That which is down needs fear no fall". The relationship between both countries is messed up already anyway and it can't get any worse.