Issues regarding History between Japan and China have included visits to Yasukuni Shrine, descriptions in history textbooks, and lawsuits for compensation over the issue of "comfort women." Recently, however, it seems that the nature of the issues has changed significantly. In 2021, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Xi Jinping administration worked to reconstruct the official understanding of history, as seen in the emphasis on new history called the "Four Histories" (the history of the Communist Party of China, the history of new China, the history of reform and opening-up, and the history of the development of socialism). Now, the "history" that China is telling is becoming an argument not only domestically but also externally for forcing change in the existing international order. One example is the questioning of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the related historical perception of Taiwan and Okinawa.
In this webinar, we discussed various issues related to China's "history war" based on the latest research trends.
Panelists
Kawashima Shin, Executive Director of Research, NPI
Session 1: "China's History War: Domestic Reconstruction of 'History' and External 'History' War"
Fukuda Madoka, Professor, Faculty of Law, Hosei University; Visiting Fellow, NPI
Session 2: "International Perception of Taiwan: The Debate over United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758"
Masuo Chisako, Professor, the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University
Session 3: China's Infiltration Operations in Okinawa
Moderator
Eto Naoko, Professor, Faculty of Law, Gakushuin University; Visiting Fellow, NPI
On the day of the webinar, a lively discussion took place with a large number of participants from government ministries and agencies, corporations, researchers, and the mass media. The main points of the discussions are as follows.
In recent years, China's narrative around history has undergone major changes and become more active. However, this is not a reflection of an emphasis on history within China; rather it is based on strategic and structural concepts.
On May 17, 2017, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech in which he referred to the importance of philosophy and the social sciences in times of historical transition.
The Xi administration is strengthening "discourse power" under the leadership of the Communist Party and is attempting to reconstruct and theorize narratives such as history in line with the administration's policies as well as disseminate them both domestically and internationally through propaganda and infiltration operations.
In China, over the past seven to eight years, there has been a shift toward placing more importance on the history of the "Communist Party" than on the history of the "nation" and toward trying to instill this historical awareness into everyday life. The Xi administration regards history as synonymous with political ideology and is strengthening its control over history education in an effort to instill it in young people.
The Xi administration regards the San Francisco Peace Treaty system that began in 1951 as the root cause of various issues such as Taiwan, Okinawa, and the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty system and criticizes the East Asia international system centered on the U.S. as a "remaining postwar issue" from World War II.
Approaching 2025 (the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II), China is trying to align its historical perception with Russia and instill a narrative that combines "criticism of the San Francisco Peace Treaty system" with a "remaining postwar issue."
Regarding Taiwan, the policy has shifted from aiming for unification of Taiwan through cooperation with the Kuomintang (KMT) to aiming for unification of Taiwan through direct infiltration into Taiwanese society. In terms of historical awareness, the role of the KMT in the war against Japan has been downplayed.
China has recently asserted that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 is in fact an expression of China's "One China" policy. However, although this resolution addresses the transfer of UN representation to the People's Republic of China, it makes no mention of the status of Taiwan.
China is reinterpreting the resolution as evidence that the "One China" policy, which states that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China, is accepted internationally. Through such a shift in the narrative, China is working to instill this interpretation into international society. This kind of Chinese-style reinterpretation is a concrete example of efforts to strengthen its "discourse power."
With the support of friendly countries in Central Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, China is stepping up its efforts to have the world accept its "One China" policy.
In response, the advanced democracies have argued that Resolution 2758 does not address the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China over Taiwan or Taiwan's future status. They criticize China's attempts to exclude Taiwan from international organizations on the basis of this resolution. As Taiwan does not have membership in UN organizations, it can only express its gratitude for the support of friendly countries at best.
China has consistently recognized that Okinawa is part of Japan since the end of the war, partly due to the influence of the Japanese Communist Party with which it had a cooperative relationship. However, in August 2005, for the first time, the opinion of a scholar who commented that "the status of Ryukyu is undetermined" was published in a magazine under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
China is preparing to use its "criticism of the San Francisco Peace Treaty system" as a weapon to attack Japan. Since around 2023, it has been stepping up efforts to stir up pro-independence sentiment in Okinawa through social networking services and other means.
It is thought that China is conducting infiltration operations in Okinawa under the pretext of academic, media, cultural, and economic exchange. It has also made contact with the Ryukyu National Independent Research Association, which was established in 2013. The goal of the infiltration operations is thought to be to cultivate human resources and organizations that will act in accordance with China's wishes in Okinawa in the event of a Taiwan contingency.
In China, the Communist Party has been the main force behind the Party's united front work across a range of fields. In recent years, the activities targeting Japan have become more active, and the diplomatic system, including embassies and consulates-general, has been developing activities involving other organizations. Among these other organizations, the most active is the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In September 2024, a preparatory meeting for the establishment of a "Ryukyu research center "was held at Dalian Maritime University in China. It is thought that preparations are being made there not only for a "history war" against Japan, but also for a "legal war" against Japan.
In conjunction with President Xi's visit to Russia, there have been signs of cooperation between China and Russia, such as the publication of an article on the Okinawa issue in Sputnik.
In Japan, research into China's infiltration operations is being carried out individually by researchers without government support. While China's activities are important for Japan's security, they are difficult to detect. An organized response is required, such as consolidating information and comparing it with cases in other countries. In terms of national interest, it is necessary to analyze the situation in a long-term, strategic manner with collaboration between industry, government and academia.
On the other hand, it is necessary for Japan to continue dialogue with China and to work towards mutual understanding.
