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Left: Chinese Flag and Map
Right: Japenese Flag and Map
Photo Source: CIA World Fact Book

China has always believed that Japan copied ancient China's culture when it formed its own. This didn't make the two societies friendly toward each other though. The proof of this is that it is estimated that over 35,000,000 million Chinese died at the hands of the Japanese up to the end of World War II. The Chinese while trying to get along with Japan have never forgotten this. Many modern Japanese regret what happened but there is just no way to undo it.

Relations have progressed between the two countries since 1972. Japan has showed remorse over the extremely aggressive actions it had taken in China in the past. To show that it really wanted good relations with China it adhered to the one China policy and has not developed relations with Taiwan. It also respected China's territories. The two countries have striven to embrace friendship between them. Much of the technology in China has actually come from Japan. Japan is a powerhouse of technological advancement in the region and in the world. While China can't forget the past aggressions of Japan on its territory and people;, it has decided to put these matters aside in the interest of better relations with Japan. To prove that it wants good relations with Japan China has not claimed any indemnity from Japan for its actions during the war.

All is not roses between Japan and China however. China is exasperated by Japanese rightists that deny that Japan killed many Chinese. China is then put in a position of having to reiterate what happened, thus fanning the flames of hate all over again. To try and soften this, a speech was made in 1995 by the Prime Minister of Japan at the time, Tomiichi Murayama who said to the effect that he regretted the past aggression of Japan on the people of Asia. This was the first time the word aggression had been used by the Japanese.

Japan had taken Taiwan from China in 1895 and occupied it for over 50 years. Because of this, Taiwan is a very delicate diplomatic question for Japan and this is another reason why it supports China on the One China Policy so strongly. Japan feels it must support China on this because it signed an agreement to restore all former lands it seized from China to China and it feels that Taiwan falls into this category. As we know, this is not the position of the United States, which feels that Taiwan is a separate country. The Chinese are a very patient people and I think that it is only a matter of time before Taiwan goes the way of Hong Kong. Hong Kong was taken over by the Chinese from the British. Unfortunately in countries like Germany and Japan the glamour of past conquests is attractive to a certain type of individual and every so often you will hear about some right wing organization trying to convince the people to go back to the glory days of conquest. These organizations even spring up in other countries. A country has to always be on guard to guarantee its freedom and democratic ways.

Old ways die hard and disagreements boil to the top every once in a while. In 2000 China told Japan that they should learn the lessons of history. Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori said that the nation was a divine country centered on the Emperor. The Chinese were not happy to hear this because it reminded them of Japan's colonial past.

Today there is a problem between China and Japan over natural gas. The problem is getting hotter and hotter. The Japanese believe that the field being developed by the Chinese is entirely in the exclusive Japanese economic zone. Right wing Japanese newspapers are calling for the end to appeasement of China. The problem is made even more severe by the fact that there are nine other fields that the Japanese feel cross over the dividing line recognized by Japan. Oil and Gas was one of the main causes for Japan going to war in World War II. They had felt that the U.S. was cutting them off from natural resources. Of course in those days Japan had a huge army and navy. Things are different today, Japan only has a national defense force but may be heading toward establishing a military of its own in the future. China needs power for its growing economy which could potentially be the largest in the world while Japan it totally dependent on imports of energy for its thriving, massive, economy.

On April 16, 2005 a protest parade took place in Shanghai. Japanese flags were burned and rocks were thrown at the Japanese consulate. The crowd was shouting that Japanese invaders must die. The protest was broken up by police. A similar, but peaceful, protest took place the week before in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. Now Japan has announced that it will also allow drilling in waters claimed by China. The drilling is to take place in what Japan calls the Eastern part of the Japan-China boundary, China doesn't accept this boundary

Where will all this end? Hopefully there will be a peaceful settlement in the future. One thing the world doesn't need is a war between China and Japan, this could be a war that would pull in the rest of the world.