Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Japan for two days on November 24 and 25, meeting separately with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu, and Secretary-General of Liberal Democratic Party Toshihiro Nikai. At each meeting, Wang Yi emphasized the need to deepen relations between the two countries, to which the Japanese side basically agreed. Nevertheless, Yoshihide Suga strongly requested China to earnestly deal with the intrusion of China Coast Guard ships into Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands (known in China as the Diaoyu Islands). He also expressed concern over the situation in Hong Kong where China has imposed a National Security Law. Wang Yi made no concessions on both issues. In speaking to reporters of both countries, he made reference to “some fishing boats unaware of the truth”, thereby revealing where the tension of the Senkaku Islands came from.

It was Yoshihide Suga’s first in-person meeting with a senior Chinese official since taking office. He told Wang Yi that “stable relations between Japan and China are extremely important for the international community, and it is a shared responsibility.” According to China’s post meeting announcement, Wang Yi has delivered President Xi Jinping’s verbal message: “China and Japan must cherish the bilateral relations which have returned to a normal development path; we must trust each other and handle sensitive issues properly.” The so-called sensitive issue is undoubtedly the territorial dispute of the Senkaku Islands.

Wang Yi’s keywords, “some fishing boats unware of the truth”, emerged during the talks between the two foreign ministers on the 24th. He asserted that “recently, some Japanese fishing boats which are unaware of the truth have continually entered the sensitive territorial waters near the Diaoyu Islands, leaving China with no choice but to make the necessary response.” Japanese reporters did not understand the implications of the statement “fishing boats unaware of the truth” at all and therefore subsequent reports of the meeting were very superficial. Some reports said that Wang Yi has shown a tough attitude of no concession; some rightists said that Wang Yi must not be allowed to act with arrogance.

So, where were those keywords coming from? According to Japanese official announcement, the intrusion of China Coast Guard ships into Japan’s territorial waters and contiguous waters near the Senkaku Islands has increased rapidly since last summer. At 10:47 and 10:48 in the morning of October 11 this year, two China Coast Guard ships tailed a Japanese fishing boat from the so-called contiguous zone and entered Japan’s territorial waters. Japanese coast guard vessels sent to the area repeatedly urged them to leave Japanese waters. Instead of leaving, the Chinese ships demanded the Japanese fishing boat to leave Chinese waters. The Chinese ships left finally at 8:26 pm after confirming the withdrawal of the Japanese fishing boat. They have stayed in Japanese waters for a record 57 hours 39 minutes.

The governments of Japan and China have previously reached a tacit agreement to bar ships of either side from entering the disputed waters. But this tacit agreement was violated by the Japanese. A local newspaper of the Okinawa Prefecture, Yaeyama Daily, reported on June 21 this year that two fishing boats of the Yaeyama Fisheries Association set sail to the waters around the Senkaku Islands in the evening of the 20th. One of them was a local fishing boat whereas the other belonged to Japanese Culture Sakura Channel. Its President Mizushima emphasized via YouTube channel on the 19th that the Ishigaki City Council was going to implement name changes for the Senkaku islands on the 22nd, a solid proof of Japan’s effective management of the islands. The “fishing boats unaware of the truth” as described by Wang Yi were actually fake fishing boats!

The Japanese Culture Sakura Channel is a Japanese right-wing TV channel and video sharing website. Extreme rightists such as Birei Kin often appear on screen to advocate extreme right-wing ideologies such as supporting Abe and protecting the beautiful traditions of Japan. From the first voyage in June to September, the Sakura Channel has supported Ishigaki fishermen to go fishing around Senkaku islands for four times. Almost none of the mainstream Japanese media reported such activities. Territorial disputes are the most effective stimulant for populism. The single-sided reports of Chinese ships intruding Japanese waters will only fan anti-Chinese sentiments of the Japanese people.

In fact, the relative staying power of Japan and China with regard to the Senkaku Islands has totally changed. According to an anonymous source of the diplomatic security bureau, China has surpassed Japan in terms of the number of battleships and the ability to mobilize air forces. Currently, Japan must endure hardships in order to plan retaliation. If sporadic conflicts erupt, Japan does not have the ability to defend its sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. However, such view does not have popular support within the Japanese government. Only senior officials involved in the Senkaku issue are aware of the harsh reality. “Patriotic activities” of the Sakura Channel are a real headache for them.

The author believes that the Senkaku dispute is very similar to the situation in North China in the early summer of 1937. Back then, the Japanese army tried to annex North China. North China was filled with patriotic and anti-Japanese sentiments. On the other hand, Japan was overwhelmed with calls to punish the brutal Chinese government and people (as several hundred Japanese immigrants were tortured and killed). Under such a tense situation where a single spark can light a prairie fire, the Japanese army conducted a military exercise at Lugou Bridge; the strike of a match immediately caused a big explosion. Who took the first shot? That is an eternal mystery. If Japan and China had allowed their military to shoot at each other in the disputed waters, the public opinions and sentiments in both countries would have supported the tragic repeat of history.

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping visited Japan to ostensibly exchange instruments of ratification for the new Japan-China peace treaty. On October 15, he disclosed China’s views on the territorial disputes over the Senkaku Islands at a press conference hosted by the Japan National Press Club: “Our generation is not smart enough. We cannot arrive at a consensus. Our next generation will be smarter than us and they will find a way to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all parties.”

Being Deng’s next generation, we really want to live up to Deng Xiaoping’s expectations. But we can only pass his hopes to our next generation. In doing so, we must inform our next generation the cruel reality and objective facts about the Senkaku Islands.

(Amakasu, Japanese Veteran Journalist)

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