When Human Rights Watch in November criticized the Japanese government¡¯s ineffective ¡°quiet diplomacy¡± surrounding the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, netizens on one of Japan¡¯s most popular mainstream websites were swift to criticize. ¡°Aren¡¯t you criticizing the wrong country?¡± one user wrote. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why Japan has to be called out.¡± Similar voices were echoed over 700 times in a matter of days.
It¡¯s unlikely that their views represent Japan¡¯s public sentiment on the Rohingya crisis. But their rhetoric provides a glimpse into the minds of those who either are unaware of or refuse to acknowledge Japan¡¯s shameful track record of looking the other way on human rights abroad when it has mattered most.
For more than 40 years, Japan prided itself on having the world¡¯s second-largest economy. That changed in 2010 when China¡¯s economy surpassed Japan¡¯s. China¡¯s economic power has translated directly into diplomatic power through public and private investments, and support for abusive governments around the world. The Japanese government¡¯s response appears to be to embrace those very same abusive governments.
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