Following the murder of a Japanese boy in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, there have been a series of claims on Chinese social media that “Japan is the one that is conducting anti-China hatred education.”
Following the murder of a Japanese boy in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, there have been a series of claims on Chinese social media that “Japan is the one that is conducting anti-China hate education.”
On the morning of the 18th, a boy on his way to a Japanese school in Shenzhen was stabbed by a man (44) about 200 meters from the school. The boy died in the early hours of the following day, the 19th. The man has been detained by local authorities and is currently being questioned, but the detailed motive has not been revealed.
There have been a number of voices in Japan pointing out that this incident is due to China’s long-standing history of anti-Japanese hatred education. Videos have been reposted on social media, causing controversy, showing an event at a Chinese kindergarten where people try to “defeat” Japanese soldiers, and a child being physically punished by a teacher for writing “I love Japanese people” on a picture.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has maintained that this incident is an “isolated incident that could occur in any country in the world.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who met with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, also said, “Japan should view this rationally and avoid politicizing or escalating the issue.” China’s mainstream media has also asserted that “there is no such thing as hate education in China.”
Meanwhile, posts on Chinese social media have been flooding in claiming that “Japan is the one conducting anti-China hatred education.” A Weibo account with over 3 million followers posted several photos, writing, “What kind of hatred education is this from an early age? Be wary of Japanese right-wingers.” The photos show Japanese boys dressed in military uniforms from the former Japanese army at what appears to be Yasukuni Shrine, as well as a large group of kindergarteners lined up holding the Japanese flag and the Rising Sun flag.
The account, which has about 470,000 followers, posted several screenshots from a video of adults in Imperial Japanese Army uniforms marching at Yasukuni Shrine, writing, “Today’s entire Japanese society is a breeding ground for Japanese militarism. How can we forget when they haven’t forgotten?” The images are even captioned with, “Japanese militarism education and education of hatred are truly universally practiced by people of all ages and genders.”
Another account with nearly 2.5 million followers attached an image of a news article stating that “Foreign Minister Kamikawa called on China to crack down on anti-Japanese social media posts,” and claimed, “Japan is putting pressure on China, but according to opinion polls, the percentage of Japanese people who dislike China has reached 93%. Who is actually conducting ‘hate education’?”
Additionally, Taiwanese TV host and political commentator Huang Zhixian, known for being pro-China, posted a video on Weibo, claiming, “Is there any evidence that the perpetrator committed the crime out of patriotism or hatred towards Japan?” and “The Japanese side is forcibly linking this incident to Japan-China relations.” He continued, “There is nothing for Chinese people to feel sorry for towards Japan. I can understand why Chinese people feel uncomfortable when they see Japan. Japan has killed, invaded, occupied and plundered many Chinese people, and to this day has not acknowledged, apologized or regretted it!” and “So why are the Japanese so anti-China? It’s because they have some kind of intention,” and insisted that the responsibility lies with Japanese politicians. (Translated and edited by Kitada)
