Policy brief How should China react to the Japanese PM's war shrine visit ?

Résumé du document

It is in China's interest to settle the Yasukuni Shrine issue, because nationalism and historical revisionism on both sides constitute the roots of the problem. China should, firstly, stop incentivizing nationalism at home and, secondly, share common historical facts with Japan by carrying out a joint research on history. Then, in order to tone down the constant and still-lively rivalry between the two countries, and make its complaints pass off as a more abstract criticism of historical revisionism, China should try to get support form other countries. To internationalize the Yasukuni Shrine issue is probably not as difficult as it may seem. It would, furthermore, more obviously modify Japan's national interest in a sense favorable to the resolution of the Yasukuni Shrine issue. Eventually, China should try to act in a way that leaves room for Japan to meet its demands without loosing face. While Japan's political opposition to the visits should be included, the removal of the fourteen most controversial shrines from the Yasukuni Shrine - for instance - could prove adequate to content China while preserving Japan from being humiliated.

Extraits

[...] We made it clear China can not accept Japan to keep on honoring its war criminals; in the meantime, Japan cannot accept China to keep it from honoring its history. The Yasukuni Shrine is also a site of memory, and Abe Shinzo earlier stated: will continue to respect and pray for those who fought for Japan"[11]. The question is: where? What action would be enough to content China while preserving Japan from being humiliated? Taro Aso openly calls for the reform of the Yasukuni Shrine, proposing that the Yasukuni Shrine lose its religious status and hinting at the possibility of separating the Class-A war criminals from the other soldiers. [...]

[...] In fact, the sole way to solve the problem would be to build a national memorial that is nonreligious. Nora, Pierre ; Entre mémoire et histoire, la problématique des lieux de mémoire Les lieux de mémoire, Introduction au tome I Curtin, J Sean ; the shrine : Koizumi's dangerous Asian Times Jamuary, 6th CNN.com ; “Where war criminals are venerated” , January, 14th Website of Yasukuni Ninja : http://www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/qanda.html Wenran Jiang, history lesson for Koizumi”, Taipei Times, Saturday, Aug 19th All statistics come from the website of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, “Publics of Asian Powers Hold Negative Views of One Another” : http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=255 W. [...]

[...] In the same time, China could gradually tighten the restrictions on Japanese visiting China. If it is not sufficient, China could strike an economic blockade on Japan; having become China's largest trade partner (in value) in 2005, there is no doubt Japan would be highly sensitive to it. And to couple diplomatic and economic sanctions should result in a positive outcome for China in the long run. Still, such a policy would also be costly for China, whose economy also highly depends on Japan's. [...]

[...] The study is expected to be undertaken by the end of the year and might result in a more honest rendering of Japan's annexation of Korea, brutal occupation of China, and the 1937 mass killings in Nanking. If it is successfully achieved, there is no doubt it will make it harder for the two governments to indulge in distorting history for political gains. B. To internationalize the Yasukuni issue more China voices (opposition), the more one feels like going there. It's just like when you're told ‘Don't smoke cigarettes'; it actually makes you want to smoke”. We already mentioned Taro Aso' assertion earlier. It aptly highlights the specificity of the Sino-Japanese relationship. [...]

[...] Secondly, in order to tone down the constant and still vivid rivalry between the two countries, China should try to get support form other countries in order to internationalize the Yasukuni Shrine issue, which is probably not as difficult as it may seem ; it would furthermore more obviously modify Japan's national interest in a sense favourable to the resolution of the Yasukuni Shrine issue. Eventually, China should try to act in such a way as it leaves room for Japan to meet its demands without loosing face. Here again, the removal of the fourteen most controversial shrines from the Yasukuni Shrine - for instance - could prove adequate to content China while preserving Japan from being humiliated. This is this option we recommend China to choose. III. Recommendation for course of action A. [...]