Implications in the 21st Century

The Nanking Massacre continues to be a stumbling block in Chinese-Japanese relations in the 21st century. A recent example of this tension is the Senkaku-Diaoyu Islands incident. In September 2012, the Japanese government purchased the Islands (known as the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese and the Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese) from a “private owner” which prompted protests by the Chinese, who believed that the uninhabited islands belonged to China. In many major Chinese cities, anti-Japanese demonstrations broke out, some of which turned violent.¹ Unsurprisingly, some of the rhetoric turned to the Nanking Massacre.

In the midst of the dispute, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine at the start of a three-day spring festival. Among 2.5 million war dead, the Shrine also commemorated 14 convicted Nanking war criminals. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said, “[The] Yasukuni Shrine is a damaging element to Japan’s relations with its neighbors. It is a negative asset for Japan. If the Japanese leaders are willing to continue carrying this negative asset on their back, the negative asset will become increasingly heavier.”² However, the Prime Minister, as well as many Japanese, feel like China is using Nanking as a means to get their way in international politics. The disputes escalated to militarization in China, which declared an “Air Defense Identification Zone” that included the airspace of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. According to a 2012 joint poll by the Global Times and China Times, 90.8% of Chinese mainlanders believe that  “whatever means, including acts of warfare, have to be taken to defend the sovereignty over the Diaoyu or Tiaoyu Islands.”³ Thankfully, the tensions between the two countries have since eased, but the two countries are still at odds with each other. Any future conflict would undoubtedly bring up memories of the Nanking Massacre, which would further inflame antagonism between China and Japan. If Sino-Japanese relations are to improve in the future, the Nanking Massacre is a hurdle that both countries need to jump.

Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands_dispute