Anti-Japanese netizens delay Japanese aid to Chinese earthquake victims

It sounded like great news – Japan’s self-defense forces airlifting help to earthquake victims and improving relations with China. Well, it turns out the Chinese government has backed down on its original request, making Japan use civilian aircraft instead:

The plan to send relief supplies aboard SDF aircraft surfaced after the Chinese government on Tuesday asked the Japanese Embassy in Beijing to supply tents and other goods because the rainy season is approaching.

Tokyo began considering the deployment of SDF planes, which can be mobilized quickly, because China indicated it would accept them as a means of transportation.

SDF members have never entered China.

But Chinese public opinion has been divided over the possibility of SDF troops landing in China, which could bring back painful memories of Japanese actions in the country before and during World War II.

While some said the deployment could become a symbol of improving bilateral relations, critical comments against the plan have been posted on the Internet.

At the news conference, Machimura said Japan need not push through the plan if it could cause friction.

A source close to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said the Chinese government could not reach a consensus about the SDF plan.

Why did the Chinese government back away from its previous request? The Times Online has blamed the netizens:

Although the request for aid to be brought in using ASDF planes appears to have originated in Beijing, the idea of China’s reviled wartime enemy crossing its borders in uniform was too much for the country’s avid hordes of internet users – a group rapidly emerging as a powerful force of political influence.

Infuriated by the Japanese authorities for rushing ahead with plans to send the military transporter planes – and with their own government’s apparent acquiescence to the scheme – Chinese websites quickly filled with messages condemning the plan.

The informal invitation to Japan’s SDF raised eyebrows on both sides of the East China Sea when it emerged earlier this week – although diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo are now visibly on the mend after many years of acrimony, the issue of Japan’s historical imperialism remains a flashpoint of anti-Japanese sentiment for the Chinese public.

Thanks to the anti-Japanese efforts of the netizens, earthquake victims will now have to wait longer to get the tents they desperately need.

Side Note: The New York Times also has an article up that notes the online anger in China. In explaining the Chinese anger, it falsely states that the “remains of prominent convicted war criminals” are held at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. It’s a Shinto shrine, not a cemetery!