Koreans, Taiwanese, and Japanese views of each other....

[Whack-a-Mole]

@cckerberos

I was referring to statements such as Koizumi’s 2001 apology:

And I was referring to statements in 2007 by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe so where does that leave us except that Japan seems decidedly vague and flip-floppy on an issue such as this?

Last month, Abe caused a furor in Asia and the United States when he said there was no evidence that the Japanese military had coerced women into sex slavery in World War II, in keeping with longstanding assertions by Japanese nationalists that the women were volunteers or were coerced by third-party private brokers. On March 16, Abe’s comments were endorsed by his cabinet as the official government position.

SOURCE: International Herald Tribune - April 29, 2007

I wasn’t trying to impress you with what the Japanese had done or to convince you that the Japanese had made just amends. I was just showing that when you said that the Japanese hadn’t made “any reparations” that you were wrong.

Fine, good job at getting me for using language too loosely. Nevertheless this is an issue that is a long way from needing to be forgotten.

[HazelNutCoffee]

@cckerberos

He said that he was making his statement as Prime Minister, which implies to me that he was acting as more than just a private individual. Why would he need approval from his ministers?

Why does the President of the US need the Senate to ratify a treaty? The point of a formal apology is for Japan, as a nation, to admit to its wrongs. The PM can feel as sorry as he wants; what Korea wants is the Japanese government to issue a statement, ratified by the cabinet, saying that they were bastards in the past and that they’re sorry.

[cckerberos]

@gitfiddle

I also want to know how Japanese people view Koreans and Taiwanese in light of their past colonization? For instance, when I was in Japan last week, one of my good friends (who’s Japanese) spoke of how she was worried about the construction of a new Korean Cultural Center near her apartment. I thought this was strange because one of our best friends (from when we all met as students in France) is Korean. Yet, my Japanese friend was worried about an influx of Koreans in her neighborhood, saying that it could put her in danger.

That’s interesting. Korean culture’s very big here, especially with housewives and young people. Korean shows are on TV subtitled in Japanese and the number of Japanese learning Korea seems to be at an all time high. I have a number of Korean friends who are studying here and I’ve seen them get very positive responses when telling Japanese people that they’re from Korea. Some conservatives have opposed the current Korea boom, but I don’t think they have much influence. I’m surprised by your friend’s comments; the group of Asians that I primarily hear Japanese people complain about are the Chinese.

[tripletaker]

Anyone have any books they would recommend on this subject or even any good general history books about Korean and Japan? I find this all fascinating (being a Korean American) and would like to learn more.

[TokyoBayer]

In addition to the reasons given by others, another reason may be that after WWII, Taiwan was “occupied” again by the Nationalist, and native Taiwanese resented them more than the Japanese. The Mainlanders monopolized the government and businesses, and relegated native Taiwanese to a second class citizenship.

In the meanwhile, the Nationalist party was completely focused on the Communists and the past wasn’t emphasized as much.

[Koxinga]

There’s kind of an urban legend in Taiwan that when Nationalist troops were first stationed in Taiwan post 1945, many of them had never seen running water before. A couple of yokel soldiers from the inland provinces were fascinated to see a running tap in one restaurant, and asked the owner where they could get one. The owner directed them to a plumbing supply store nearby, where the soldiers eagerly bought a faucet head, took it back to their barracks, and nailed it to the wall. When no water came out, they got mad and went back to the original restaurant to beat the hell out of the owner for lying to them.