And so the saga over the Senkaku Island Dispute continues with further panic mongering being reported in the Japanese media.
The dispute over a few uninhabited islands in the East China Sea (conveniently located close to possible off-shore gas resources) claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan has escalated since the summer, leading to demonstrations and unofficial boycotts of Japanese products in China, and to public and netizen outrage in Japan. Most recently, there have even been fears of war in both countries. Here, a Chinese language paper in Japan surveys opinions of Chinese citizens living in Japan.
From Yahoo! Japan:
‘Things Would Be Awful If There Was a War!’: Chinese Resident in Japan Under Pressure From Families to Return To China, According to Chinese Newspaper
According to Chubun, a Japanese Chinese-language newspaper, on January 25, 2013, many Chinese citizens living in Japan have started considering returning to their families in China since the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations.
The Senkaku issue has cooled Sino-Japanese relations below freezing point. As Chinese planes and boat patrols continue surveillance activities in the area surrounding the Senkaku Islands, there are more than a few Chinese citizens wondering ‘will this lead to war?’. Parents who are worried about children who have been living in Japan long-term are pressing them to ‘come back quickly!’ The same thing happened after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Mr. Zhang in Tokyo was pressed by his mother on the phone: ‘How will Chinese people in Japan be treated if a war breaks out? Come back now before it is too late!’ Mr. Gao, who had come to Tokyo on vacation, was pressed by his parents in Beijing to go back to China as soon as he could, so he cut his plans short and returned to China.
Mr. Zheng, who lived in Japan for 15 years, was also constantly being called on the phone by friends and family urging him to come home. No matter how Mr. Zheng emphasised that ‘Japanese people do not care that much about the Senkaku Island dispute in their day-to-day lives, let alone think about war,’ his relatives would reply ‘The Japanese only behave that way in front of you because they know you’re Chinese’. When he talked to a colleague on Chinese instant messenger service QQ, he was told ‘come back to China at once. You’ll be taken hostage.’ Mr. Zheng also remembers, however, that his Chinese friends all cried out ‘it’s the end of the world’ after the Fukushima nuclear disaster as well. Now, as then, he has cut contact with China and continues on with his normal life. This is the only way he can have any peace and quiet again.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
ともさん：
If you go back, the smog will be waiting for you （笑)
天下布武さん：
The gap between the image they have in China and the actual situation of Japanese society. It really shows how much the Chinese Communist Party are making propaganda and brainwashing the people.
tak*ma*45さん：
Well, go back soon then, and spread the word about how magnificent Japan is.
京東バナナさん：
Go back, go back～ And all foreigners in Japan should go back to their countries and not come back again～
また閉店セールさん：
North Korean people, feel free to do the same
Blitzkrieg_2012さん：
Please, for the sake of Japanese peace! Please go back, even if it has nothing to do with war or anything! （笑)
shibsk1さん：
The ones making a fuss are idiot Chinese people! The people who want to leave should leave fast!
エジルさん：
Other foreigners living in Japan should go too
YOKOSUKAKIDさん：
I think that Japanese people living in China should come back home soon too
さん：
They’ve got it the wrong way round, it’s the Chinese who will take Japanese hostages! Don’t treat us as though we’re as barbaric as them! Japanese people have common sense and decency!
平成の特高警察所属さん：
The Chinese people living in Japan understand that Japan is WAY safer than China. It’s cause it’s full of poison.
coo*ar*onさん：
The ones who are in the most danger are Japanese people in China.
mas*bic*07さん：
‘Taken hostage’? That is a Chinese concept.
reo*nexさん：
What!? And so what if you don’t know how Chinese people in Japan will be seen if a war breaks out? Japanese people in China are assaulted on a daily basis even without a war.
ﾅｺﾞﾔﾉﾘｮｳﾏｾﾞﾖさん：
Well if that’s the case, go back soon then. No one is stopping you (笑)
アキトさん：
Please, by all means, go back. There is no use taking people without morals or pride hostage and we don’t want to do it. In Japan, there are no dishonest people to take people hostage anyways.
mam**ide9さん：
Really, really! Go back then! It will be a sign to go home when the Self-Defence Forces fire a bullet from the Senkaku Islands! And bring the Koreans with you!
道半ば迄来た旅人さん：
They need to choose between being naturalized as Japanese or going home. If China becomes an enemy nation, there will be nothing else to do but put them in an internment camp.
anyこの世の圏外で、anyが火病るさん：
If I beat someone up, it’s to make them pay for their mistakes.
