People wait for traffic lights at the busy crossroads of Shibuya, Tokyo’s popular fashion hub. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

 
 
I first met Shoko while walking through the bustling square by the Hachiko exit of the Shibuya train station in Tokyo one early summer afternoon when she asked me if I could take a picture of her campaign and post it on any of my social media accounts.

Shoko is a part-time volunteer for actor-turned-politician Taro Yamamoto, who at the time was fiercely expressing opposition to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to reinterpret an article in Japan's pacifist constitution that bans its army from aiding allies under attack overseas.

"Exercising collective self-defense equals war," Shoko pointed to a sign she and her partners were holding and with a big smile asked me to deliver their "genuine friendliness" to more Chinese people after she learned about my job as a reporter.



Tenuous relationship 

In late May, I had gone to Japan to talk to politicians, scholars, students and journalists amid increasing tension between China and Japan brought about by Abe's move to ease weapons export rules and his attempt to allow collective self-defense - all this on top of the territorial disputes and historical issues that the two countries faced.

Among all the conversations I had, "friendliness" with China was the trickiest topic. Everyone brought it up, but most of my interviewees - from powerful politicians to seasoned reporters at leading Japanese media outlets - were reluctant to openly commit to any statements due to the unspoken rule in Japan where one might be criticized for taking a friendly stance towards China.

An important solution to solve the impasse between the two neighbors would be to enhance person-to-person communication, said several elderly Japanese scholars in their 70s or even 80s who have devoted their life to promoting bilateral ties.

However, establishing such communication may be easier said than done, as people across different generations in the two countries hold very different views toward each other.

The horrid Japanese invasion of China during the 1930s is a fundamental barrier that is extremely hard to overcome from both diplomatic and emotional standpoints. Over the past two years, China has been displaying a tougher stance toward Japan, a move that has received approval domestically, but may have also triggered increasing discontent in Japan.

In a recent survey conducted by Japan's Cabinet Office in mid-December, 83.1 percent of respondents said they have a hostile attitude toward China, the highest percentage since 1978. Similar surveys have shown that Chinese people's grudge towards Japan mainly comes from wartime scars and issues over sovereignty, while the Japanese see China as "often violating the rules."



The next generation

"The growing pressure brought about by China's rise has made many Japanese feel 'insecure.' How long are you going to let history be a burden?" Shoko asked me during the interview.

Her question reminded me of a student exchange program I participated in back in 2009 involving students from Tokyo University, many of whom are now young business leaders or working in the central government agencies in Japan now.

The young Japanese elites asked us to arrange a special visit to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Museum during their time in Beijing. They spent the whole morning in the museum, reading the explanation of every item on display.

When the program went to Tokyo, these students took us to an exhibition at the Yasukuni Shrine to repay us. They expressed their sincere sympathy and condolences to Chinese war victims, but said Japan's current youth generation may be less likely to do the same as they feel further removed from older generations than Chinese do.

Condemn the war, learn its lessons and move on, they said. We're a new generation. It's time to walk out from under the shadow of history and make a difference together.

I heard very similar ideas five years later from Yasuo, a young Japanese entrepreneur engaged in engineering business with China. He made an enthusiastic presentation in fluent Chinese about his business and a Sino-Japanese exchange society he had founded. With sparkles in his eyes he spoke of a bright future in which "we move on and truly respect each other."

While I firmly stand by my country's bottom line that war crimes must never be denied and that the tragedies that befell so many people should be remembered, as I look at Japan's new thriving generations and their more open-minded Chinese peers, I feel it may be time to find a new way to deal with history, making it a solemn reminder, of course, yet less burdening. At the same time China has to build up its confidence and get out of its century-long "victim mentality."



Moving on

During the country's first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on December 13, President Xi Jinping stressed that the Chinese people should not hold a grudge against Japan since "the responsibility for the war lay with a few militarists, not with the people." 

This separation of Japan's former militarist government from its people was similar to the opinion of many Japanese observers I talked to, as they expressed concerns that the general public might feel threatened if China adopted a tougher stance, which could in turn incite more public support for Abe's hawkish policies.

After Abe was re-elected Japanese Prime Minister on Christmas Eve, he  named the aggressive Gen Nakatani as his new defense minister. This is a situation many Chinese people may not be happy to see, but on the other hand, a stable government is important for Sino-Japanese relations, as previous short-term policies by short-lived leaders have kept things fluctuating.

All in all, financial stability and safety are what most people really care about. My cousin, who moved to Yokohama more than 20 years ago, found his ties to China were great advantages at work. However, as a father of two, he is also worried about the Japanese economy as the recent depreciation of the yen has proven costly.

Looking to the future, the general public's urgent demand for economic recovery might drive Abe to implement milder diplomatic policies and seek cooperation, but he is also likely to continue with assertive security policies that boost Japan's international influence. As such I expect the current status quo will continue in 2015.