After Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese media desperately promoted the idea that China was the biggest victim, but the comment sections exploded!

Recently, Japanese media such as the Sankei News have been trying to instill in the Japanese public the idea that if the strait were blocked, the biggest victim would be China. However, this move clearly failed and instead caused an uproar in Japan's own comment sections.

The Strait of Hormuz is the global energy bottleneck, with about one-third of the world's maritime oil and a large amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) passing through it. For Japan, which is extremely resource-poor, this waterway is a lifeline. If it were cut off, Japan's energy supply would face a catastrophic crisis.

Under this massive anxiety, the Japanese media's reporting became distorted. They tried to emphasize "China's reliance on Middle Eastern energy" to achieve two goals: first, to shift the public's fear of Japan's own energy vulnerability to a "schadenfreude" or "detached observer" mentality towards China's potential suffering. Second, they implied that if something happened, China would suffer more, even subtly suggesting that "China would prefer stability."

Data shows that over 90% of Japan's crude oil imports and a significant proportion of its liquefied natural gas come from the Middle East, and almost all must pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, if the Strait closed, power plants in Japan might shut down on a large scale, and social operations would directly come to a halt. This is a real "survival crisis."

The Sankei News originally intended to set the tone, but ended up burning itself. The reason Japanese netizens were so dissatisfied was because their common sense was offended. In the comment section of the Sankei News, many Japanese netizens pointed out: "We are the ones who depend on Middle Eastern oil, why are we lying to ourselves that China is worse off?" "Half of China's oil comes from Russia and pipeline transportation, while we rely on 90% or more on ships passing through the strait, who is more vulnerable is obvious." "The media shouldn't ignore basic facts just for promotion; this is like stealing ears."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858695228737548/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.