I am a Taiwanese American living in San Diego. I was born in Kyoto, when my father was a district attorney there before the end of World War II. I love to visit Japan.
From my dealings with Chinese, I have been surprised to find how deep is the hatred Chinese have against Japanese. Chinese will not even see Japanese movies. They keep talking about the massacres in Nanjing killing 300,000 Chinese. Any small incident with Japanese will ignite a big uproar in China. The biggest enemy for Chinese is Japan. Chinese believe that Japan depends on support from the U.S. If the Chinese can take over Taiwan, they will be able to come out to the Pacific Ocean and cut Japan off from the U.S., and then Japan will give in to China.
Ian Easton, a research fellow specializing in East Asia, agrees with this point of view. In an interview last fall with the Taiwan News, he was quoted as saying: "In the event Taiwan were to fall, Japan becomes extremely vulnerable to a naval and aerial blockades. The Chinese have written in military studies ... that once Taiwan falls, 'we can use the island as a military staging area to put pressure on Japan if necessary to starve it out.' They could cut Japan's maritime and air lines of communication."
I don't know if Japanese are aware of this danger.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.