What are Japanese's response about this?

[quiet sunshine]

BEIJING, Feb 21 -- A Spokesman of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Japan has no intention of irritating China on the question of Taiwan.
The spokesman made the remarks in response to China's "serious concern" about a joint US-Japanese statement which described Taiwan as a common security issue amidst the Chinese mainland's military build-up.
The spokesman says that it is critical the Taiwan issue is resolved peacefully to maintain peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
The listing of the Taiwan question came in a communiqué on Saturday at the end of talks in Washington involving U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Self-Defence Agency Minister Yoshinori Ono.

I'm not very interested in politics, since I've read or heard many Chinese news and comments, I'm interested in knowing common Japanese's attitudes or opinions from other countries' people about the joint US-Japanese statement.

 

[Nefelia]

I'll give you a Canadian's perspective.

The Japan-America joint statement regarding Taiwan was a foolish bit of saber-rattling and counter-productive.

I expect such casual belligerence from America, after all, when does the American government not make its opinion known. However, I did expect a bit more sensitivity from the Japanese government.

And yet, this is simply a sympton of a larger problem. While the majority of world nations (the EU, ASEAN, Australia, Latin America, Africa) are responding well to the rise of China and actively seeking a policy of mutual benefit, Japan and America feel threatened and are actively fighting against it. I know why America feels threatened: a powerful China challenges America's hegemony over Southeast Asia. I have no idea why Japan would feel threatened though.

 

[TuskCracker]

Just a point. China passed a law that says they will attack and invade Taiwan if they declare independence.

Their are many millions of people in Taiwan that feel threatened by this.

The Japan-America joint statement regarding Taiwan was a foolish bit of saber-rattling and counter-productive.

From the one of the most liberal papers in America, New-York-Times editoral

China Warrants an Arms Embargo Published: March 28, 2005

It is hard to imagine what China's leaders figured they had to gain by pushing through a law authorizing an attack on Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence. Beijing has been threatening such an attack for years, and the Communist Party's all-powerful leaders hardly need to get their toothless legislature's permission if they ever decide to plunge ahead with such lunacy.

But it is easy enough to see what damage this gambit has already done to China's international reputation and objectives. By reminding the world that Beijing seriously thinks about launching a shooting war across the Taiwan Strait that could conceivably draw in the United States, China has persuaded Europe to slow down its ill-advised drive to lift the arms embargo it imposed after the violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.

,,,, on and on,,,,,

 

[Hiroshi66]

Taiwan was under Japanese rule for 50 years, from 1895 to 1945. Taiwanese did not fight a guerilla war against Japan like in Korea or Mainland China, and Japanese did not have pogroms and massacres against Taiwanese like they did in Korea and Mainland China. Though I think Japan is a pawn of US foreign policy in East Asia, Japanese and Taiwanese youths as well have no major animosities towards each other.

 

[urecco]

Taiwan was under Japanese rule for 50 years, from 1895 to 1945. Taiwanese did not fight a guerilla war against Japan like in Korea or Mainland China,

There were lots more guerillas in Taiwan than Korea.

 

[Hiroshi66]

Urecco, are you sure about that? The Koreans fought a lengthy guerilla campaign all throughout the occupation, especially in the beginning. Taiwanese may have fought one in the beginning, but I doubt that Taiwanese did during the occupation. Maybe aboriginal, but not Taiwanese.