Visiting shrine for war criminals as power play (#87; Topic J)

BBC's 10 pm telecast tonight included an interview of Japan's foreign minister Taro Aso. Asked about his suggestion that his emperor visit the shrine for war criminals (#59), Aso again defended vigorously -- and, in the anchor's view, using language that is not diplomatic. One reason, the anchor speculated, was that Aso might be aiming for the prime-ministership later on. Prior to this segment, BBC showed another scene, last year, in China, of people marching with banners displaying anti-Japanese sentiments; several showed "Boycott Japanese goods." This reminded me of an incident last September. While touring China, I had occasion to be sitting next to a young man, in a round table in front of an important sightseeing point in Kunming; we were resting while waiting, in my case, other members of our tour group to reassemble to continue our other activities. Being outspoken, I asked him whether he was a college student. He answered in the negative; he was 26, had graduated from college, and was a school teacher, leading a group of some 80 pupils from a nearby province for a visit to Kunming. I was impressed by his answer -- that his school had funds to allow inter-province travel suggested that China's educational budget was generous. I then asked him about the relationship with Japan. He said that there was a strong sentiment to boycott Japanese goods. This may account for the fact that, despite Japanese cars being popular in USA, GM was the most popular nameplate in China in 2005 (replacing VW, the most popular nameplate in China in 2004; #25). Our conversation was interrupted as members in our tour group came out; we had to return to our bus for our next event. But my short conversation with this 26-year-old teacher left a strong impression with me.
Posted at 11:30 pm, Wednesday, February 15, 2006