Observer | Is the direction of Japanese media changing? Chinese | Japanese media
Recently, the Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan published an article praising the ATTO3 model produced by BYD in China.
The author of the article test drove the car and believed that its interior decoration was highly personalized, with no basic performance issues, and its price in Japan was even more competitive. The article also includes a picture of a red ATTO3 car, briefly introducing BYD's development process - the company entered the automotive industry in 2003 by acquiring an automotive company; In 2022, BYD's electric vehicle production reached as high as 910000 units, second only to Tesla globally. The article states that for the Japanese automotive industry, which has a nearly century long history of automobile production, such rapid progress is completely beyond the reach of Japanese peers. The author is particularly generous in praising the design of the car - although consumers may have different opinions on the design of the vehicle, the ultra avant-garde design style of the car is difficult for traditional fuel cars to achieve, making every first-time consumer who sees the car heart beat and deeply intimidated. Subsequently, the author also gave a thumbs up to BYD's blade battery.
If the article is published in a commercial or automotive professional journal, it is not surprising at all, but it was published in Yomiuri Shimbun. What is the reason why an article praising Chinese electric vehicles has been published in this newspaper with the largest circulation in Japan, which has frequently featured themes such as "China's threat" or "China's collapse" in its coverage of China for many years?
It's true that no coincidence can make a book. On the same day, another major Japanese newspaper, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, also published a commentary written by the senior editorial member of the newspaper, "The embarrassing current situation of Japan's automobile industry, why is electrification so lagging behind?". What triggered the author's exclamation was his understanding of the strong feeling that the CEOs of the three major car manufacturers, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, had after attending the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year: the transformation of traditional cars from fuel to electric is far faster than expected, and the Shanghai Auto Show has had a strong shock on them. They unanimously felt that China's leading position in this field was beyond Japan's expectations. If we don't make up our minds to catch up, the prospects of Japan's automotive industry are chilling.
It may be a coincidence that two major newspapers were discussing the same topic on the same day. But it is surprising that Japanese media can so candidly acknowledge China's leading position in this field. As a former economic and technological powerhouse, Japan's leading position in the global manufacturing industry, especially in the automotive sector, is beyond doubt. Until now, Japan still maintains a leading position in many technological fields in the world. Japanese colleagues have always looked down upon China's role and position in this field.
In fact, this is far from the automotive industry. The traditional mindset of the entire Japanese economic community towards the Chinese economy and technology in the past was that China is still suitable for labor-intensive products. As for technology intensive products, hehe... that disdainful expression is undisguised.
This mindset has a long history. Since the First Sino Japanese War, Japan's economy has always maintained a clear leading advantage over China, so Japanese militarism had sufficient confidence back then. After the defeat, Japan's territory became a wasteland, but with the support of the United States and the foundation of its strong national strength, the Japanese economy quickly recovered and quickly became the world's second largest economy. In the 1980s, the Japanese economy reached its peak, while the Chinese economy was almost on the brink of collapse at the end of the decade of turmoil. In 1978, China began implementing the policy of reform and opening up, and Japan decided to provide Japanese yen loans to China in 1979. This decision has two backgrounds: firstly, to thank the Chinese government for abandoning claims during the normalization of diplomatic relations, and secondly, to prevent the collapse of the Chinese economy. If the Chinese economy collapses, China will inevitably have a large number of refugees fleeing, and Japan is undoubtedly the first option. To ensure that Japan will not be affected by this impact, Japan must fully support China's economic development.
Therefore, for over 100 years since the First Sino Japanese War, Japan has always adopted a "overlooking" attitude towards China in the economic field. Although the size of China's economy surpassed that of Japan in 2010, there is still a significant gap between China and Japan in terms of per capita GDP. Even though China has caught up in terms of economic scale, Japan has always believed that Japan's leading position over China in the field of technology is still unshakable.
Due to this mindset, Japan has previously adopted an "ostrich policy" towards China's significant progress in industrial and technological development, which is not recognized. When China's independently developed high-speed rail began to operate, Japan insisted on imitating its Shinkansen technology. After the rear end collision of China's high-speed railway on the Yongwen Line on July 23, 2011, which caused significant casualties, the overall tone of the accident among Japanese media coincided: indeed, something big happened, which was already expected! In fact, various countries will encounter various problems in the process of railway development. Afterwards, China's high-speed rail not only surpassed the Shinkansen in terms of speed, but also in terms of stability. Coins could be placed on train windowsills or tabletops, leaving Japan speechless about this. The latest case is: With the opening of the Yawan high-speed railway approaching, the Japanese transportation industry media Merkmal finally admitted in an article published earlier that the high-speed rail gap between Japan and China is difficult to overcome!
Making a country that has consistently led the economy and technology for many years willingly acknowledge its backwardness is a very painful and convoluted process, and this entangled mentality is not difficult to understand. But this step always has to be taken and cannot be avoided. Those who know the current situation are heroes. After years of ignoring China's technological achievements and status, Japanese media have finally begun to change their attitude and report on the changes that have occurred in China with an objective and neutral attitude. Especially, right-wing media such as Yomiuri Shimbun have joined this ranks, which may indicate that the direction of Japanese media is undergoing subtle changes tomorrow. If Japanese media can truthfully report on China, it will undoubtedly be beneficial for the audience to have a correct understanding of China. Over time, the Japanese people's aversion to China will inevitably undergo positive changes. If there is such a change in the public opinion base, can the policy of containing and resisting China, which has been implemented since the Abe era, continue to be maintained? This is very noteworthy.
