Last week, I received an interesting invitation from an online television station. They wanted me to discuss whether the Japanese government should ¡°formally apologize¡± to China regarding the incident on March 24 in which a young active-duty Self-Defense Forces officer trespassed onto the grounds of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
The program, Abema Prime, streams online every weekday night targeted at young viewers who don¡¯t typically watch traditional television. They asked me to join a live debate with young liberal guests advocating that Japan should apologize. At first, I was unsure how to respond because I had mentally braced myself for an ¡°away game,¡± meaning a hostile environment where I would be in the minority.
However, the overall tone of the program was more well-balanced than I had anticipated. Of the three guests including myself, two argued that ¡°since active-duty Self-Defense Forces personnel were involved, the Japanese government should issue a formal apology; failing to do so would harm Japan¡¯s national interests.¡± One was a 20-something person and the other was a liberal journalist, but the atmosphere was by no means hostile.
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