"Central issue is not communication or miscommunication", interview

Sino-Japanese relations are still at an all time low despite signs of recovery. Some people claim that cultural miscommunication between the two countries and two peoples are contributing to the deteriorating relations. However, there are scholars who disagree. "I don't think central issue in Sino-Japanese relations is communication or miscommunication", said Charles E. Morrison, the East-West Center President during a recent interview with Yong Tang, People's Daily Washington-based correspondent.

Based in Honolulu, Hawaii and established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, The East-West Center is an internationally recognized education and research organization promoting a stable, peaceful and prosperous Asia Pacific community. Dr. Charles E. Morrison has been president of the Center since August 1, 1998. He has had extensive involvement in the conceptualization, organization and funding of policy-oriented educational research and dialogue projects in both Japan and the United States, and has long been involved in promoting the concept of Asia Pacific community. He holds Ph.D.in international relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Dr. Charles E. Morrison

Yong Tang: To what extent Chinese culture and Japanese culture is similar?

Morrison: I am not an expert on culture, but obviously Japan has borrowed extensively from Chinese culture. There are many differences, however, both in historical and modern times.

Yong Tang: Given the similarity of Chinese and Japanese culture, how do you understand the difficulty of communications between Chinese and Japanese people? Even Chinese and Japanese reporters who know much more about China and Japan than the general public find it hard to cover the two countries objectively, why?

Morrison: I think it is hard to even cover one's own country objectively, much less another country. The question assumes that there is a great similarity between Chinese and Japanese culture, but there may be other ways in which Chinese are more like Americans even than they are like Japanese. And many of the problems in communication may not be related to culture but to differences in understanding history, to differences in circumstances, to differences in systems, and to different interests. We also know that many Japanese and Chinese businessmen are communicating very well together as do the Japanese and Chinese students at the East-West Center. This is because these groups share common interests.

Yong Tang: China and Japan have chosen totally different models of development. This was said to have increased divergence between Chinese culture and Japanese culture. So communication between the two nations is becoming more and more difficult. Can we understand the bad communication or miscommunication between China and Japan this way?

Morrison: I do not think these models are "totally different." For example, both countries have taken advantage of export opportunities in their development trajectories. However, in the period since World War II, Japanese culture was more influenced by the Western countries, and this is particularly true of its political system and values.

I do not think the central issue in Sino-Japanese relations is communication or miscommunication. It is a question of interests, some of which overlap and others of which appear to compete. The challenge for Chinese and Japanese leaders is to understand their common interests and work together to advance these. China must work hard to convince Japan that it is not a threat to Japanese interests, and Japan must do similarly with respect to China.

Yong Tang: Some experts say the core of Sino-Japanese conflict is the insufficient communication between the two sides on the issue of history. So if China and Japan overcome the problem of history controversy, other problems existing between Chinese and Japanese culture would disappear accordingly?

Morrison: Issues of history will not go away easily, but even if there was a common interpretation of history, historical issues and grievances can be injected into contemporary international relations because of other issues. As implied in the last question, the two countries need to understand that neither can truly achieve its own national aspirations without a cooperative relationship with the other.

Yong Tang: There have never been two superpowers in Asian history. Now there are two big powers in Asia, one is China and another is Japan. India is becoming another big power too. Asian security and development is hinged upon the relations between these big powers. Of course we Chinese readers are more concerned with Sino-Japanese relations. How do you think China and Japan could work together?

Morrison: It is difficult for countries like China, Japan, and the United States to develop habits of working with other large powers on the basis of equality, as all have histories of being the large power in their respective spheres. However, hopefully, like France and Germany, China and Japan can develop strong cooperative relations because this is in the best interests of both countries.

Yong Tang: How will Chinese and Japanese culture evolve in the foreseeable future?

Morrison: This depends very much on leadership at many levels and in many fields. At the East-West Center we seek to train young people from around Asia, the Pacific, and the United States in the international dimensions of leadership. We hope to play a role in making young leaders aware of the regional and global dimensions of the challenges that modern societies face. A danger, especially in countries undergoing tremendous socio-economic change, lies in the growth of unhealthy and dangerous forms of nationalism, as occurred in Japan prior to World War II and in Germany in the 1930s.

Both Chinese and Japanese societies are being affected by modernization and globalization trends. In the course of their modern development, they face similar challenges, although in different time frames. These challenges include issues of demographic change (aging especially), resource scarcities, environmental issues, and the introduction of new values. I would expect that China could benefit by looking at both Japan's successes and its failures, and that this examination, as well as the experiences of other nations, will help China chart its future course. Chinese and Japanese cultures, like those of all countries, are constantly undergoing significant changes, and one would expect some convergence over time.

Yong Tang: How will the trend of Chinese and Japanese culture impact the future of Asia?

Morrison: China and Japan will be important influences on Asia as a whole.

Yong Tang: What role does America play in the communication between China and Japan? Is it a positive or negative role?

Morrison: It is in the interests of the United States that Japan and China work together on issues of common concern to themselves and to the region. The United States hopes to work cooperatively with both great Asian nations on issues of common concern, just as we are doing on the North Korean nuclear problem. (END)

By Yong Tang, People's Daily Washington-based correspondent