[Global Times Special Correspondent Jiang Feng in Japan Global Times Special Correspondent Wang Wei Strictly] The Tokyo Olympic Games are splendid and people are looking forward to a "faster, higher, stronger, and more united" Olympic Games, but unfortunately, Japan and The "Olympic turmoil" triggered by ethnic conflicts and antagonistic sentiments between the two countries continues one after another.
Around the current Tokyo Olympics, the wrestling between Japan and South Korea can be said to be one after another: from the territorial dispute that was intensified by the Japanese Olympic torch relay map two years ago, to the South Korean delegation hanging up the "anti-Japanese" banner and being hyped "don't worry about the Fukushima issue." "Food ingredients start a small stove", and then the South Korean people protested that the "sun flag" appeared in the Olympic stadium... Behind the storm, there are both historical understanding and the background of territorial disputes, but also a manifestation of the dissatisfaction of neighboring countries caused by the discharge of Japan's nuclear sewage.
Coupled with the cancellation of the summit meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga because the senior Japanese diplomat in South Korea privately insulted South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the prospects for relations between the two countries have become increasingly bleak.
The antagonism between the people of Japan and South Korea made the Tokyo Olympics a bit "turbulent", and analysts have become increasingly pessimistic that the relationship between South Korea and Japan may not be eased under Suga Yoshihide and Moon Jae-in's tenure.
From the "dispute map" to the "war criminal flag", friction continues
What caused Japanese public opinion to worry about was the "anti-Japanese banner storm" provoked by the South Korean sports delegation after arriving at the Tokyo Olympic Games Athletes Village.
First, members of the delegation posted on the balcony of the dormitory a banner similar to the quotations of Yi Sun-sin, the hero of the Korean Peninsula’s history, with the words "The minister still has the support and support of 50 million citizens." This is easily reminiscent of Yi Sun-sin's maritime resistance. The Japanese said, "There are still twelve, and the Shunchen is immortal (the minister still has 12 ships, and it can still be a battle)."
The Japanese media and right-wing forces believed that this was a political statement and was suspected of being "anti-Japanese," so they continued to protest.
In accordance with Article 50, Item 2 of the "Olympic Charter", political, religious, and racial propaganda in the Olympics is prohibited, and the International Olympic Committee will subsequently interfere.
Although the Korean Sports Association retorted that the relevant sentence was not political, it eventually removed the banner.
However, the Korean Sports Association re-posted a new banner with the words "Tiger Going Down the Mountain" and the pattern "The tiger lies on its side in the shape of the Korean peninsula" outside the Olympic Village building.
In fact, the dispute between South Korea and Japan over the Tokyo Olympics has started at least in 2019. The official website of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games marked a point above Shimane Prefecture on the map introducing the route of the torch relay in Japan on the official website of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. It seems to be a Japanese territory. The South Korean government protested to Japan in July 2019, and the Korean Sports Association also sent a letter of protest to the Japanese Olympic Committee. On May 24 this year, the South Korean government once again requested the Japanese side to make corrections through the Japanese Embassy in South Korea. On May 26, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee stated in response to a written inquiry from the South Korean media that “the map is designed to concisely mark the route of the torch relay”. South Korea’s KBS TV said in this comment that such a reply means that the Japanese side refuses to make changes, and in fact advocates that "Dokdo" is a Japanese island. On July 1, the Korean National Assembly formally passed a resolution in the plenary session, strongly condemning the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee’s act of marking "Dokdo" as Japanese territory on the official website of the torch relay roadmap, saying that the act violated the "promotion of sports." The Olympic spirit of "world peace" and "the separation of politics and sports" once again requires the Japanese side to immediately delete the relevant labels.
Yonhap News Agency reported on July 25 that North Korea’s foreign propaganda media "Dawn" published an article on the same day, condemning the map of the Tokyo Olympics’ official website for marking "Dokdo" as Japanese territory.
The North Korean media also accused the Japanese of holding the Olympic flag in one hand and waving the "sun flag" in the other.
As we all know, the "Rising Sun Flag" is a symbol of Japanese militarism.
The South Korean government and the people believe that Japan’s "Rising Sun Flag" is a "war criminal flag", similar to the flag of the German Nazis. Therefore, they have always strongly opposed the appearance of this flag on international occasions.
However, according to Japanese media, the attitude of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee is that the "sun flag" is widely used in Japan and "does not contain political meaning", so it is not an item prohibited from being brought into sports venues.
Although the Japanese side has noticed the news that the International Olympic Committee and the South Korean government are negotiating on this, the Japanese government's regulations on the "sun flag" that can enter the stadium have not changed.
South Korea’s "Central Daily News" commented that the "Rising Sun Flag" symbolized Japan during the imperialist period and was criticized as a "symbol of aggression" and a "flag of war criminals."
Japanese right-wing groups have played the "Rising Sun Flag" in front of the Olympic Village for many consecutive days and used loudspeakers to shout to the South Korean delegation. This in itself proves that the flag has always been a symbol of Japanese right-wingers who are trying to deny the history of aggression.
Li Qixing, president of the Korean Sports Association and member of the International Olympic Committee, said on July 19 that the IOC hopes that South Korea and Japan can refrain from related speeches, because this is inconsistent with the purpose of the Olympic Peace Ceremony. The Committee obtained relevant written commitments to ban the hanging of the'Sunrise Flag'".
On July 23, South Korea’s Sungshin Women’s University Professor Xu Kede publicly stated that he had sent a protest email to IOC President Bach on the day of the opening ceremony, asking the IOC to learn from FIFA, and prohibiting the Japanese from appearing in the publicity of the “sunburst”. flag".
He also cited, for example, that in 2017, the AFC fined Kawasaki Forward Football Club a fine of $15,000 for sponsors hoisting the "sun flag" in the game between South Korea's Suwon Samsung and Japan's Kawasaki Forward.
Xu Gide said that the above-mentioned examples all reflect the fact that the international sports community regards the "Rising Sun Flag" as the "War Criminals Flag." Under the correct view of history, the use of the "Rising Sun Flag" during the Olympic Games should be strictly prohibited.
"Public Opinion Clash" Shadows Over the Tokyo Olympics
In addition to the turmoil surrounding historical understanding and territorial disputes, the Japanese media also once hyped "The South Korean delegation opposed the Fukushima food provided by Japan and set up its own cafeteria."
In fact, this turmoil has a lot to do with the Japanese government's announcement this spring that Fukushima nuclear contaminated water will be discharged into the sea.
This approach of the Japanese side caused strong dissatisfaction from neighboring countries such as China and South Korea.
The South Korean delegation has stated that considering the safety of ingredients, it will advise South Korean athletes not to consume Fukushima products.
Some Japanese media even exaggeratedly stated that among all the delegations, only the South Korean delegation publicly stated that they rejected the food provided by the Olympic Village.
On July 24, South Korean Minister of Culture and Sports Huang Hee stated that the South Korean government has never issued a formal order to athletes not to eat Fukushima ingredients. The reason why South Korea set up a food center near the athletes’ village is mainly to take care of Korean athletes. Taste.
The head of the South Korean delegation, Zhang Renhua, also said that the Korean Sports Association has set up a catering center for its athletes since the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the Japanese side is too sensitive to making such a fuss.
The mutual accusations between Japan and South Korea have caused the emotions of the people of both countries to get out of control.
"Although the criticism and ridicule of the Korean media on the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is expected, it is still too mean!" The Japanese JBpress website reported on the 25th that three TV stations in South Korea, separated from Japan by the water, conducted the show. The live broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but before the opening of the Olympics, because of territorial disputes, the Korean Olympic delegation’s “anti-Japanese” banner, Korean athletes’ “making a small stove”, and the cancellation of the Korean-Japanese summit meeting, the Korean media continued to conflict with each other. The Tokyo Olympics is acrimonious.
According to the report, Korean media such as "Kyogosung Shimbun", "Kookmin Daily" and other Korean media even wrote: "The opening ceremony was a cry for'stopping the Olympics'" "The most unfortunate flame in history illuminates Tokyo unwelcomely." "After the loneliest opening ceremony, I can only believe in the'power of sports'." "The drone performance of the Tokyo Olympics is a copy of South Korea's creativity in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics."
Under the agreement not to appear in the name, a reporter from Japan's "Tokyo Sports" told the "Global Times" reporter, "Tucao" said: "Originally, the Tokyo Olympics was not going well, and the arrival of the Korean sports delegation made the Tokyo Olympics even worse. "He said angrily: "In June this year, the Korean Institute of Social Opinion released a poll. The results showed that 67.6% of South Korean respondents were in favor of boycotting the Tokyo Olympics (50.6% of them chose'strongly agree'). Under such emotions, can some Korean athletes who come to Japan participate in the competition?" And the latest poll results released by the polling agency Gallup of South Korea on July 23 show that there is a question of "whether you think this Olympic Games will be a complete success?" For the question of "success", 84% of South Korean respondents still hold a negative attitude, while only 7% are optimistic.
According to the observation of the "Global Times" reporter, some Japanese netizens began to counterattack in a variety of ways in response to the South Korean delegation's hanging "anti-Japanese" banners in the Olympic Village, claiming that "food from Fukushima makes people feel uneasy."
For example, some people refer to "Korea" as "hate country" based on the Japanese pronunciation.
Others made a fuss on the vertical banners that were hung up after the Korean delegation removed the "Anti-Japanese" banner-the banners were written in Korean to mean "the tiger descends" from the mountain, but some Japanese netizens said that in Japanese "Tiger" is pronounced the same as Moon Jae-in's "Yin", and "Xia" also means "surrender", so the words on the banner can be understood as "Yin has surrendered!".
In Japan, Park Young-jin, president of the Korea Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the Global Times reporter: "It is a pity that the Tokyo Olympics not only failed to become an opportunity to improve the relationship between South Korea and Japan, but may become the beginning of the further deterioration of the relationship between South Korea and Japan. The nation pays great attention to its own dignity. Not long ago, the Japanese diplomat in South Korea’s speech to President Moon Jae-in was really low-level and indecent. This matter will be deeply buried in the hearts of the Korean people. Moreover, from the government to the private sector, South Korea must also Will retaliate."
The “Korean Wave” website wow Korea, which has some influence in Japan, quoted reports from South Korea that whether South Korean athletes can successfully win gold in the Tokyo Olympics has three main obstacles: first, it depends on whether the epidemic will expand; second, it depends on the heat. Whether the weather affects the game; the third depends on the attitude of Japan-sensitive athletes also believe that "Japan will do everything to prevent South Korea from winning the gold medal."
Domestic politics make Japan and South Korea "unwilling to compromise"
In the opinion of the public opinion of South Korea and Japan, the relationship between South Korea and Japan may worsen in the future due to the severely antagonistic national sentiment.
The latest article published in the Japanese edition of the US "Newsweek" stated: "At present, Japan and South Korea are in a state of almost ridiculously high national sentiment. From 2000 to the present, Japanese society has spread a kind of'dislike Korea.' Some extremists even proposed that Japan should “sever diplomatic relations” with South Korea.” The article also read: “This time the Korean sports delegation came to Japan not to sincerely communicate with the host’s citizens, but to show, “I’m here. '! So they will naturally create something to stimulate Japan."
"Why is Japan becoming more and more rude to South Korea?" The "Korean National News" recently published an article on the gradual intensification of the conflict between South Korea and Japan. The article accused the senior Japanese diplomat in South Korea of making extremely inappropriate remarks to the South Korean president, making the South Korean government. Taking the Tokyo Olympics as an opportunity, attempts to improve the possible deterioration of the "worst South Korea-Japan relationship in history" have come to nothing.
The article stated that in order to solve the problem of Japanese military "comfort women", South Korea and Japan signed the "Comfort Women Agreement" (also known as the "12.28 Agreement") on December 28, 2015, but since then Japan's "diplomatic faux pas" towards South Korea has become structured Familiarization and blatantness-most of the previous Japanese politicians' "little talk" about South Korea was a denial of the historical truth, but with the disappearance of the old generation in Japan who remembered Japan's "war responsibility" in Japan, and the right-leaning of Japanese society, the addition of " The 12.28 agreement", all of this has changed.
Behind the antagonism of civil sentiment, the diplomatic stalemate between Japan and South Korea cannot be separated.
The Japanese reporter who privately complained to the "Global Times" reporter also said: "After the ROK finally announced that President Moon Jae-in would not attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics and the summit meeting between South Korea and Japan, someone in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said,'This is East Olympic diplomacy. The first failure', but is the responsibility all in Japan?"
"Moon Jae-in's visit to Japan failed, and the relationship between South Korea and Japan may cool down again." Yonhap News Agency said in a recent commentary. Because of the recent history and territorial disputes between Korea and Japan, and the nonsense of Japanese diplomats, the Moon Jae-in government decided to give up Use the Tokyo Olympics to improve South Korea-Japan relations.
There are also articles from the South Korean media that it is difficult for the leaders of South Korea and Japan to meet recently. In addition, Japan has provoked the sovereignty of "Dokdo" in the "Defense White Paper", and incidents that contradict the sentiments of the South Korean public have occurred one after another. It is expected that the relationship between South Korea and Japan will be short-term. It is difficult to usher in the opportunity of reversal.
South Korea and Japan will face the presidential election and the House of Representatives election respectively. It is expected that the two countries are unwilling to show weakness first, and many diplomatic analysts worry that the relationship between the two countries will be at a stalemate for a long time.
South Korea’s "Joongang Ilbo" believes that the domestic politics of the two countries have had a large negative impact on the relationship between South Korea and Japan. President Moon Jae-in could not completely ignore the domestic anti-Japanese sentiment, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also faced the problem of falling support for forcibly hosting the Tokyo Olympics despite national opposition. Some analysts believe that under such circumstances, the cabinet of Yoshihide Suga will find it more difficult to make concessions to South Korea on sensitive issues.