Memories that still linger
(From The Japan Times June 1 issue)

自衛隊派遣見送りで対日感情浮き彫りに

After China asked Japan to transport emergency supplies for survivors of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake, even signaling that the use of Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft would be acceptable, it appeared that C-130s would be the first Air Self-Defense Force aircraft to fly into China, aside from the special government planes that have transported Japanese leaders.

But Tokyo eventually decided against the dispatch of ASDF aircraft after consultation with Beijing. Both governments considered the emergence of strong opposition within China to the dispatch — a reminder that Chinese people's sentiment about Japan is complex and should be handled with care.

Beijing's request itself symbolized a warming of bilateral relations following Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan in early May. At that time, Mr. Hu and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed to push for mutually beneficial strategic relations between the two countries. In light of Japan's military aggression against China in the 1930s and '40s — and the Chinese people's memory of those years — the ASDF mission would have been an event of historic significance.

China needs a large amount of tents, blankets and medicine for those affected by the quake. This urgent requirement together with the activities of a Japanese emergency assistance team in Sichuan province may have led the Chinese leadership to think that even the dispatch of ASDF aircraft was feasible.

But after the possible dispatch of ASDF aircraft was reported in Japan, many Chinese people expressed strong opposition to it on the Internet. This is a reminder that Japan should not be lulled into thinking that the "issue of historical perceptions" is no longer a sensitive subject.

Japan will send chartered planes to China. The development also underlines a need to establish a network among Asian countries for cooperation in emergency relief work in the event of a major disaster, as recently proposed by Mr. Fukuda.

中国政府から日本政府に対し、四川大地震被災者への救援物資を輸送してほしい、輸送手段は自衛隊機でも構わないという要請があり、C-130型輸送機は政府専用機以外で中国に初めて派遣される航空自衛隊機となるところだった。

だが中国国内の強い反発に配慮して派遣は見送られた。中国国民の対日感情は複雑で、慎重な考慮を要する。

中国政府の要請は、二国間関係改善を象徴する。日本軍による侵略行為の歴史をふまえると自衛隊機派遣は歴史的出来事となり得た。

物資不足と日本の緊急支援組織の活躍が、中国側の要請を後押ししたと考えられるが、日本は日中の歴史認識の違いを甘く見てはいけない。

日本は中国にチャーター機を派遣する。今回の騒動では、災害時のアジア間支援ネットワークの構築の必要性が明らかになった。