China Japan In Africa

Dear Readers and Friends,

As many of you know, I am off to Africa to spend 2 years in Ghana and leave on August 3rd. The last few weeks have been a stressful whirl of activities --I just finished packing out and saw the giant 20 foot moving track pulling away from the house this evening.

It has been a great learning experience writing and covering about Sino-Japan relations and I plan to continue to do so with my ultimate efforts. It is something I desire to do more and more.

Even more exciting is a new angle will be added to the topic, an African angle. I intend to see how China and Japan are spreading love in this continent, how locals view the two cultures, and whether the foregin aids and youth volenteers from the coutries are winning hearts and minds in Africa?

You are invited to onboard this journal, and I will update and share information on this blog, as I have been doing. However, I encourage you to be a part of it, any questions on your mind that you'd like to ask, anything you'd like to know about Beijing and Tokyo Policies are impacting African people's lives, and whatever in you mind?

However, as it is always has been, this blog has taken a chunck of time from me. I have every intention and will make every effort to update it on a regular basis, hopefully on a daily basis if I have something worthly to share. I appreciate your understanging and encouragment.


I look forward to the new adventure along with you


Brian Yang

North Korea Saga

Chinese media reports that North Korea's Kim is having a worsening situation, his successor is his third son Jyowun.


It seems that the Chinese side was annoyed by recent media reports that North Korea's next great leader-- the third son of Kim Jung Il has recently visited China. Foreign Ministry spokesman denied the report as the James Bond fiction. (TBS)


North Korea enters the final round for the FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010, the first in 44 years.


Too much North Korea for the U.S. top diplomat? Hillary Clinton fell on the way to meet Obama and hurt herself.


I will be on vocation from June 20 and will return on July 6. I will be updating the posts by then.


Have a great summer time to all of you!

Nanjing! Nanjing! Japan Missing To Dissing?

Chinese movie about the Nanjing Massacre-Nanjing! Nanjing May 23 was shown in Shanghai, and over 250 Japanese students and employees were invited to attend and voice their opinions afterward. 47 percent of Japanese participants felt the movie will be a hard sell in Japan,and one female Japanese said she was not sure how much truth to the movie.
(Asahi News)


Lawyer John Roos was reported to be the Obama's ambassador to Tokyo, the news has stirred up a short wave across Japanese politics. LDP OB Yamazaki Taku told TBS that the Roos has no Japanese experience nor Northeest Asian security past. One Japanese blogger called it a Japan Dissing, dubble from Japan Bassing, Japan Passing, Japan Missing. (Yomiuri News)


Japan becomes the fourth most Flu cases in the world, after Mexico, U.S., Canada. (Yomiuri News )
I wonder doese that mean Japan is too close to the U.S., physically and psychologically?


Chinese will send personel to the Moon around 2025-2030. (Mainichi News)


Wang Dan, the June Forth Tiananmen student leader criticized Japan for being half-hearted when comes to support democratic movement in China. (Mainichi News)


China proposes a Free Trade Agreement among Beijing, Tokyo and Souel. (Mainichi News)


Beijing asks UN to consider a sea shelf development zone between China and Japan, could lead to new conflicts between the two energy craving countries. (Mainichi News)


THAT's this week's China Japan News.

New Flu, May Fourth, Children's Day

China and Mexico engages a diplomatic war over flu handling. China just sent charter plane to put 200 people out of Mexico, and Mexico government has asked citizens to leave China.


China quarantines 25 Canadian students even without them showing flu symptoms. (TBS News)


Hong Kong still quarantine suspects in a hotel, with security guards around the hotel.


Hong Kong's Baodiao group members were stopped by police from going to Diaoyu Island(Senkaku), where both China, Japan and Taiwan claim as territory. (Yomiuri News)


China marks the 90th anniversary of May Fourth Movement, CCP secretary Hu Jintao ask youth to be patriotic. (Yomiuri News)


May 5 is Children's Day in Japan. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a warm message, which is a unusual and extra gesture to Japan.(Yomiuri News)

Flu Interrupts Golden Week For Japanese And Chinese

It is now Golden Week in Japan, however, no break for both Japanese and Chinese health workers. Even the two countries have not reported any confirmed H1N1 flu cases, however, they seem to all feel that is inevitable.

In Japan, as many as 50,000 travelers are scheduled to return home from overseas trips on May 6, the government is waiting nervously and making every possible measure to prevent virus landing to the island.

In China, president Hu Jintao held a first ever highest level official meeting to discuss the issue, after the 2003 SARS outbreak, no one can blame China for not doing enought this time. The current May day three day weekend is also not helping the matter, and it is traiditonal travelling time for millions. May day also starts a summer seasion where many migrants to go out to look for works and people get married.

At the April 30 meeting between Japanese PM Aso Taro, who was visiting Beijing, and Hu Jintao, both men confirmed the two countries to join hands to fight the new H1N1 flu pandemic togehter.

No Yasukuni and what so ever mentioned.

Will the flu thing bring the two contries together? the real challeng will be the end of the May, when a civil group Baodiao, Protecting Diaoyu (Senkaku) island, where both China, Japan and Taiwan claim as own terrotrity, will come from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macro to bound for a trip to the island. the group had asked both Chinese and Taiwanese military for protection from possible intervention of Japanese Marine ships.

Will it Diaoyu (Senkaku) become a trilate issue again?

Aso's Yasukuni Gift Causes China's Black Eye

Japan's Aso Taro did what he did last year at the Autumn Festival, and spent 50,000 yen and gave the same gift to the annual Spring Festival to Yasukuni Shrine. However, Beijing raised voice this time and asked Aso and Japan to deal with Yasukuni issue with a more cautious manner.

Aso is scheduled to visit Beijing next week.

The Yasukuni issue is again put on the table.

Japan obviously doesn't want to anger China right before Aso's trip, and Cabinet Secetary Kawamura brashed off and said Tokyo is not concerned about negative impact to the visit.

However, Yakukuni is to Sino-Japan Relations, just like Tibet to Sino-French one, is unavoidable and up front whenever the leaders from the two sides meet. Sarkozy rushed to repair ties with Beijing with a eye on potential economic benefits. Aso didn't have to make too much efforts, thanks in part to fromer PM Abe Shinzo's ice melting trip to Beijing. However, the issue is pretty much still up and front.

Will the trip be affected? I don't think so. However, a shadow has cerartainly casted when Aso meets Hu Jintao late this month.

Major News On China and Japan

China looks increasingly to dump the dollars it holds. As the largest holder of the U.S. currency, China moves to hedge the dollar position with other currencies.


China is leading the way in Latin America. China has been negotiating deals to double a development fund in Venezuela to $12 billion, lend Ecuador at least $1 billion.


At the same time, more talks on China leading the world out of the recession, instead of Japan and Europe.


Japan will issue the largest ever national debt in 2009 to pay for economic stimulus package


Japan considers to sponsor unemployed Japanese in Brazil


China's GDP grows by 6.1, a big drop for China. (Not for everyone else)


Japan significantly relaxes regulation to lure more Chinese tourists


China opens rehabilitation facility for internet addicts