PM Abe says Chinese have ‘deeply ingrained’ need for conflict

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Cherrie Lou Billones in Features, Politics with 28 Comments
PM Abe says Chinese have ‘deeply ingrained’ need for conflict

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had some straightforward assessments about China during his interview with The Washington Post. He believes that China’s need to spar with Japan and other Asian countries is “deeply ingrained.” He said that the ruling Communist Party’s decisions to clash with its neighbors play to popular opinion. He attributes this to a Chinese education system emphasizing patriotism and “anti-Japanese sentiment.”

This theory is the reason why Abe choose to go head-on with the Chinese government rather than talk peace with them—he doesn’t believe that the territorial disputes will be resolved any time soon. He points out that if other Asian countries decide to reduce trade and other economic ties, as a sort of means of fighting back, China’s government would be hurt badly. He said that without economic development, it “will not be able to control the 1.3 billion people . . . under the one-party rule.” He also plotted out his plans for prevention, which necessarily includes having a bigger military spending and strengthening ties with Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and other nearby nations with similar concerns about Beijing.

Abe said that China should be made to realize that “they would not be able to change the rules or take away somebody’s territorial water or territory by coercion or intimidation.” Of course, these are mirrored sentiments of China as regards Japan. And the point of Abe about the Chinese system of education is worthy of attention, coming from someone who has pushed for a more patriotic curriculum in Japanese classrooms.

[via Washington Post]
POPULAR STORIES THIS WEEK:
Tags: , , , , , ,
Share Button
DISCUSS IT
Comment Policy : Our comments section is open and welcome to anyone who wishes to participate in discussion or share their point of view, regardless of what it may be. In order to limit spam and those who wish to impede meaningful conversation, we are now requiring users to log in with an account or verify their email address. However, the following behavior will result in your comment being deleted or, if continued, permanent removal from conversations: posting under multiple names, making hateful/racist comments, or making no valuable contribution by posting the same thing repeatedly.
  • JJ

    Being a thief itself as well as being the son of his murderous father, he is talking from his ass all the times.

  • Maung Tun Aung.

    Historians say Japan forced 200,000 “comfort women” from Korea, China, the Philippines and elsewhere to work as sex slaves in brothels run by the Japanese military during the war.
    Japanese war crimes occurred in China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and other Asian countries during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities.looting,killing civilians nd rape!!
    Nation did all the war crime and still trying to rationalize them should exterminate entirely from earth.US atomic bombs should drop all over Japan.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jpierre603 Jason C. Pierre

    Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Abe and his Education reform panel has plans to make the Japanese education system extremely nationalistic and biased. Text-books that either ignore, downplay, or mis-reperesent Japan’s activities during WWII. Just this week it was decided to deny funding to pro-North Korean schools, and provide them instead with subsidiized textbooks written by an anti-Korean author, whose duaghter was allegedly kidnapped by North Korea.

  • Far East

    I agree with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that China needs to maintain this aggressive stance toward Japan. Maintaining an outside enemy pretty much like North Korea do keep the momentum in their country and beyond this, it diverts Chinese people opinion from the true domestic issues: wide revenue disparity reflect in a GINI index above 0,6 highlighting a situation close to social unrest, very high perceived corruption coefficient, massive number of officials fleeing the country, FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) dropping by 7.3% year-on-year, strong CPI inflation while low (for China 1.2 billion population) GDP Growth at 5% or less. I say 5% and not the bullshit 7.6% the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics claim because GDP growth rate is heavily correlated with electricity consumption that stands officially today at 5.5%, an extremely high debt-to-GDP ratio when consolidating the debt of all the province, etc, etc. I could go on like that, but when one bears this in mind, one understand the absolute need for China to keep Japan as the enemy. 

    • Bill

      Abe is coming from the famous WWII war criminal family. No wonder he is against China, however, it is not all Japanese follow him. His jealous mind need to be changed in order to get harmony in the region.

      • http://www.facebook.com/maquivant Maquivant Ch

        “China is the most dangerous superpower on Earth.” Cited fm chairman Google, indeed Communist China is the root of all evil on Earth !

        • Bill

          You are wrong and you must mislead by media. Don’t you know Japan killed millions of people in WWII and still denys what the evil deeds: comfort women, killing in Nanking….and changing the shcool books to hide their evil deeds. This is all the fact.

          • Whirled Peas

            That was 68 years ago. Since then Japan has been a peaceful nation, is sorry for its grave mistakes, and has assisted it’s Asian neighbors a great deal in improving their own economies via grants, loans, technical assistance. training, and technology. We all know about the aggression by Imperial Japan, so you need not constantly remind people like some kind of mantra. Japanese officials have publicly apologized 38 times! The vast majority of Japanese are hugely regretful and angry at how their government led the nation into during WWII. I just got back from visiting Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and you should have seen the busloads of Japanese civilians and (I assume) Navy (white uniforms) who came to pay their respects to the fallen! Yes, unfortunately, every country has a small number of people who deny past mistakes, especially in the face of others who are constantly rubbing their noses in the past errors. But it is not useful to analyze world events in the framework of dislike and distrust of China’s colonizer’s past deeds, for which they are sorry.

            ON COMFORT WOMEN. And can people stop repeating that Japan did not apologize for the comfort women! It is an inaccurate urban legend propagated by two dogmatic organizations — one in S. Korea, one in Taipei, Taiwan. The Japanese government indeed made a public apology in 1994 and then set up the Asian Women’s Fund to administer locating the comfort women, establishing a memorandum of understanding with the various countries, and offering a written apology, two million yen, and health services to each comfort woman, as well as archiving the extensive research on the issue. The Asian Women’s Fund existed for TWELVE YEARS (1995-2007) and ended with the Indonesian project.

            It is true some of the comfort women did not receive their apology and the money. BUT WHY? Because unbelievably two dogmatic organizations pressured the comfort women
            NOT to accept! (In Korea it was an NGO called the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual
            Slavery by Japan, or “Chongdaehyop,” and in Taiwan
            it was the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation. ) The Korean and Taiwan comfort women who said they wanted to accept were made to feel guilty and some even changed their mind under pressure of these organizations and their peers. Those who did accept Japan’s apology and atonement money reported a great sense of closure and relief.

            Why did these Korean and Taiwanese organizations force comfort women to refuse the Prime Ministers written apology and the money? Because, their strategy to get compensation was to go through a legal battle via the courts, and if the comfort women took atonement money it might reduce their anger and weaken the court case. But even after the Asian Women’s Fund made it CLEAR to these organizations and comfort women that they could file a law suit AND also accept the apology and atonement money (money from the government and heartfelt donations of the people of Japan), these dogmatic organizations kept insisting the comfort women not accept! So it was all about keeping the anger stoked!

            In some cases the Asian Women’s Fund presented apologies and money to comfort women covertly and via go-betweens because some comfort women didn’t want others to know they were accepting! This is beyond sad!

            The court cases were eventually denied. So now do these dogmatic Korean/Taiwanese organizations feel any guilt that they cheated many comfort women out of an individual apology and some money and health and welfare services that could have made them a bit more comfortable in their old age? These dogmatist organizations want to perpetuate the myth that Japan didn’t apologize and didn’t compensate the comfort women, all to save their own faces and behinds, and again, to keep the anger stoked! And now the “Chongdaehyop,” is on a campaign to have comfort women statues erected in various places to :”remind” the world that Japan has not apologized! More diversion from their tactical error.

            I know all about mass organizing, and I’m not saying those organizations didn’t have some sincere people in them, but any organization working on behalf of others, such as the comfort women, has to put the best interests of their clientele first, not their own hopes for glory. In the day, we used to call organizations that used their clientele for their own gain, “movement opportunists” and “poverty pimps.”

    • http://www.facebook.com/maquivant Maquivant Ch

      Abe is right in accusing communist China for their deep-root hostile acts on their neighboring nations. Japanese have the courage to advance against evil- corrupted China and give a sample of courage to the world.

      • Bill

        You must learn the fact the evil extreme right wing Japanese trying to deny the comfort women, deny mass killing in Nanking, deny using biological weapons on human begings…. Sitll show no repent!

  • chinditone

    I guess according to Abe’s logic – that its OK to be a Hollocaust denier!! Its OK to deny the Rape of Nanjing. Its Ok to allow Japan to steal the Diaoyou islands!! To speak out and resist patent wrongdoing makes one have a “deeply ingrained need for conflict”. Tell that to the Jews!! Tell that to the Chinese!! It seems to me that Abe must have a very low IQ – because even a 6 year old kid can see through his nonsense. Poor Japan teetering on the brink of its worst ever trade figures and permanent economic decline – teetering on the brink of a war with China – and you have someone with Abe’s intellect to lead you through these dual crises!!

    • http://twitter.com/RSPW_DEP David Powell

      However this is something that has nothing to do with Nanking. I understand the past feelings of Chinese but Mr. Abe has as little to do with the past of the 1940s as Angela Merkel of Germany does. Or the Italian Gov’t of today.

  • Tacoma

    Chinese education system not only teach students hate Japanese but also American and British. Their system is set up to teach not only students to hate but also soldiers. Maybe people will start Chang behavior after CP down, but without let their children to study history under freedom of information research, the culture of Chinese will continue to generate hate.
    Hopefully, one day, their younger generation will learn history by research, not take whatever they are told.

    • chinditone

      The British and Americans did not commit atrocities in China and Korea and then refuse to say sorry – and then also not teach their children about what happened in WW2. I think the US is very popular in China and with Chinese children – as long as the US is not anti China. I think the British are sorry for the Opium War – but somehow Abe is try to say that the Japanese are not sorry for the atrocities they committed in Asia. Unfortunately for Abe – everyone in China has the internet or smartphone – and they can see through his Japanese Nationalism and lies in seconds – which hurts Japanese manufacturers – because Abe and his Diaoyou stance and China smears – make the Chinese not buy Japanese products. The US have not yet woken up to the fact that Abe is going to make the US look terrible in Asia – as its supports a mad nationalistic Japanese agenda. Interesting times!!

      • Truth

        This is hysterical …

        “China has the internet” … what, do you mean the same internet the government of China censors and blocks access to, or is there a special Government of China communist only internet we don’t know about?

        “The British did not commit atrocities” … what was the Opium War?

        “Refuses to say sorry” … China has had countless official apologies and billion of dollars off the Japanese, to say nothing of all the intellectual property it has ripped off for nothing.

        • chinditone

          “Scared of the truth” – I think you are hysterical because you did not read my comments properly in your excitement at hearing the truth – and your arguments are empty of truth and contenet!! The British have apologised for the Opium War and have 100% changed their attitudes. Why has Japan not apologised for the WW2 War killings in China or apologised and compensated the “Comfort women” from Korea and elsewhere. Why do Japanese politicans visit the shrines of war criminals who are the sum of history? Germany had the Nuremberg trilas where their war criminals were executed and put in prison. The US failed to do this with Japan. Why are the Chinese, Korea, and the rest of Asia still asking Japan to apologise? Why have the Japanese stolen the Diaoyou islands which have been historically Chinese from 1370 to 1895 – and not expect China to demand that that they give their territory back. The Japanese are so used to lieing that they think by telling other lies that China will forget about their stolen Diaoyou islands and not punish Japan or try to get them back. That is what Abe is trying to do. China will not give up its Holy Chinese territory!! Its a childish Japanese attitude to think that they can get away with theft!!. The US created the problem by ignoring the Potsdam Declartaion of 1946 and not giving the islands back to China as requested. The US are not prepared to fight a nuclear war or have a war with China over some small islands that Japan has stolen.Even a fool can see that!! As for China controlling their internet – why not? The US tends to use the internet to spy on other countries and manipulate them and destabilise them – and so China controls it. Japan is controlled by the US and has to follow US orders. The internet is actually pretty free in China. The Japanese were the biggest reverse engineers in the world in the 1950′s/60′s/70′s/ and 1980′s!! How d you think Japan became a major manufacturing entity!!!

    • Bill

      Japan did the same but modifying the WWII history in the education system. Even worse, they deny what they did in the WWII. Hope the new generation can know the truth of what in the past they did.

  • Bill

    I believe Abe is using this trip to convince US that China is the enemy in order to get acceptance from US to expand its imperial Janpanese army. This is very dangerous to the world if Japan heading this direction as the government is going to extreme right already. He still does not understand Japan only got administration power only but not the ownership. However, he considers it is his own. Also he must forget that Japan had changed the school education materials iin WWII history and not allow the students to learn the truth.

    • chinditone

      Well said bill!! The Nuremberg Trials dealt with Nazi war ciminals and showed the world that what dirty and evil scum they were. The US failed to have similar trials for the Japanese war criminals after WW2 and we now have children of these war criminals trying to trick the US into allowing it to re-arm Japan and threaten Asia and the world again. These guys go and pay homage to war ciminals at the war shrines in Japan – they refuse to aplogize for the WW2 killings and Comfort Women – and they refuse to allow plaques to be put up in the US commemorating the Comfort Women. Unfortunately Hillary Clinton + Kurt Campbell have fallen for the Japanese trick and have completely botched the Diaoyou Island issue and have been tricked into helping Japan hold on to the stolen islands whilst re-arming Japan – thus allowing a very dangerous Nationalistic Japan to re-arm. A collossal mistake. Hopefully Obama and Kerry will come to their senses and force Japan to negotiate with China over the Diaoyou islands and keep their pacificist militaristic ideals. If the US ever lets Japan re-arm and change its constitution to return to its WW2 aggressive behaviour – it would be the biggest disaster and failure in US history. Japan is notorious for using lies and excuses for getting what it wants and justifying it – as its pre WW2 behaviour showed.

  • Gobe

    Good going Abe, its nice to see some nationalism for japan. China has too much QQ nationalism trolls that will forever complain about some war and people killed 53794757 years ago. As if that third world country has anything better to talk about.

  • Bill

    Abe is coming from the famous WWII war criminal family. No wonder he is against China, however, it is not all Japanese follow him. His jealous & agressive mind need to be changed in order to get harmony in the region.

  • disqus_sRvdSL9pQf

    China is a spoiled teenager. Let’s wait till all investments are taken away. Let’s see this teenager whine and cry. All it knows how to do is steel intellectual property and steal technology and claim it as its own. Let China suffer with its allies North Korea and Iran.

  • disqus_sRvdSL9pQf

    China thinks it owns the world. This is the mind of a Hitler society in the making.

  • http://www.facebook.com/maquivant Maquivant Ch

    Abe is right in accusing communist China for their deep-root hostile acts on their neighboring nations. Japanese have the courage to advance against evil- corrupted China and give a sample of courage to the world.good.

  • http://www.facebook.com/maquivant Maquivant Ch

    Abe is right in accusing communist China for their deep-root hostile acts on their neighboring nations. Japanese have the courage to advance against evil- corrupted China and give a sample of courage to the world.

  • http://www.facebook.com/maquivant Maquivant Ch

    It is now the time for the US government to do something about the communist Chinese hostile cyber-attacks on the US

  • stocktonabby

    LOL, as I have said before…Well, looks like you p..athetic j– aps need to su..k on American c (ock) again! HAHAHA, you pathetic little w– easels, depending on the U S- of A after we dropped an A (bom) on your arse, and allowing our military base to come and rape your women. Hahaha. That’s what you get for being such a dis honorable people after you r..aped Korea and performed human – experments on the Chinese, and killed countless others everywhere else. And for the p– athetic U S of A, only you as a country would side with China in WW2 against J- apan, performing human terrri sm by dropping A, – bombs on a population, then side with the te- rrist. I think you 2 terr rist countries belong together. Karma is going to be quite inconvenient for both of you, you pathetic use less c ountries.

  • plansmaker

    This proves Abe and his cohorts has learned almost nothing after Japan’s defeat in WWII. To call entire Chinese nation “deeply ingrained need for conflict” is not only provocative but totally irresponsible as leader of a nation.
    Is Abe pushing for war with China? If he is, than Abe is just as crazy as Ahmadinejad with equal deadly consequences.