A Iranian blogger has raised a question, seeking clarification. The blogger writes: There is one issue I still don’t understand—why do the Japanese harbor animosity and hostility toward China? From what I know, it was the Japanese who committed crimes in China. If anyone should feel resentment, it should be the Chinese, not the Japanese. Yet the Japanese also display hostility toward Koreans. Why, then, do they maintain close ties with Americans?
A Japanese netizen responded by explaining that Japan is the youngest civilization in East Asia. During the colonial era, to avoid being subjugated by European powers, Japan deliberately rejected its identity as part of East Asia and instead positioned itself as European. This ideological shift became known as “leaving Asia, joining Europe.” To sustain this self-image, Japan had to disavow and denigrate all of East Asia—including its former teacher, China. This antagonism toward China did not emerge recently; it predates 1895.
For decades, a widespread campaign of vilification and hatred toward China has persisted, portraying China as the root of all things unrefined and underdeveloped. This has involved intense criticism and contempt, akin to blaming a dysfunctional family for all one’s problems—the parents are always at fault. This unhealthy psychological framework ultimately provided the foundation for Japan’s decision to invade China, generating nationwide support and fervor. It also helped shape the mindset that led to the Nanjing Massacre (Nanjing, then China’s capital).
This was not merely warfare—it was an act of retribution, a spiritual and physical “patricide.” It represents a profound tragedy of the Japanese psyche, one ultimately borne by the bodies of Chinese people. Anyone who has lived in Japan will observe that media outlets daily broadcast negative portrayals of China, offering no acknowledgment of China’s strengths. Prolonged exposure to such a climate of public discourse inevitably fosters growing antipathy toward China.
Frankly, the perspective offered by this Japanese netizen is highly insightful. While mainstream analysis typically attributes Japan’s unfriendliness toward China to disputes over the Diaoyu Islands, discomfort with the reversal of Sino-Japanese power dynamics, textbook revisions that downplay wartime atrocities, and similar factors, this comment reveals a deeper, underlying issue. Culturally and psychologically, Japan’s aspiration to join the ranks of Western powers has long involved a deliberate severance from its historical ties to Chinese civilization.
Historically, Chinese civilization served as the primary source of learning and reference for Japan. When Japan sought to present itself as an “advanced civilization” and achieve its transformation from backwardness to prosperity, China—the former model—became emblematic of the “inferior” civilization. As a result, China had to be criticized, severed from, and discredited. This process has become embedded in Japan’s collective subconscious. Nevertheless, reducing Japan’s wartime atrocities solely to a “patricidal” psychological complex would be overly simplistic.
The imperialist ambitions of Japanese militarism were driven by a desire for resources and territorial expansion. Psychological hostility toward China merely intensified the brutality of military actions. After the war, many former militarist politicians returned to political life, and Japan never fully reckoned with the legacy of militarism. Coupled with decades of sustained media demonization of China—where criticism from China is perceived as external pressure against Japan—and ongoing real-world tensions, this explains why anti-China sentiment remains deeply rooted within Japanese society, even among those who perpetuated violence.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1879988212664323/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.