In both Japanese and Chinese cultures, an apology is to affect personal self-examination. When adopted by the political sector however, saying "sorry" means taking blame.

Post-World War II China and Japan went through the most fundamental political, social and economical changes witnessed in human history. When the Cold War ended and "the effects of globalisation brought about a world-wide revival of debates about history, national identity and memory"[1], Japan and China immediately clashed due to their divergent post-war identities and history.

Apology for War Crimes

The Chinese wished for their neighbours to express regret and remorse in an official "apology" (which is rarely used in China outside the political realm[2]) for the war-crimes committed by the Japanese soldiers in China – especially the actions in Nanjing where, due to a mass surrender, 200 000 citizens and prisoners of war were inhumanely murdered.[3] The Japanese educational textbooks (which started the "historical" conflict), described the Nanjing Massacre as the "killing of many" due to "fierce resistance by Chinese troops".[4]

Types of Apology in Chinese

The Chinese want a formal apology from Japan, or "Daoqian" which carries with it an admission of responsibility and expression of remorse. An apology using the word "Daoqian" allows the injured party to save face, which has enormous importance in Chinese society. Early apologies by Japanese officials however were translated as "Yihan" which carries no acknowledgement of guilt. Statements like "Shen biao gian yi" (sincere regret) and "Zhen cheng yi han" (very sorry) are still ambiguous expressions since they may or may not carry implications of blame – which is the most important part of the apology in Chinese culture.

Types of Apology in Japanese

In the last parliamentary vote on the matter, 230 out of 511 legislators voted in favour of apologizing for the war crimes Japan had committed which was only achieved "by using a very mild word, Hensei (which connotes reflective remorse) instead of stronger possibilities such as Kokai (active remorse, regret) or Shazai (apology)".[5] Thus, Sino-Japanese relations have reached an impasse that can only be defused by language.

What’s an Apology For?

In both Japanese and Chinese cultures, an apology is to effect personal self-examination, but self-examinations and apologies are usually made by inferiors to their superiors and employees to employers, for example[6]. Apologising has added social connotations that when adopted by the political sector has detrimental affects – saying "sorry" inevitably means taking blame and placing one country on a higher moral ground than the other. These cultural connotations reflect the Japanese politician’s decision to use words which connote reflective remorse rather than active remorse, regret, or apology.

The Chinese lexicon however has "apology" words like "Daoquian" which "carries with it an admission of responsibility and expression of remorse"[7] all the while not patronizing the wronged party – which is integral to the image-driven Chinese politicians who wish to save face.[8] Inevitably, a "real" apology like "Daoquian" in Chinese or "Shazai" in Japanese cannot be given by the Japanese politicians who, in their comparative victimology, need to preserve their post-war ideology that the Japanese were the real victims of the war.

The use of "apologies" to resolve the conflict has merely escalated the crisis as inevitably, due to Chinese and Japanese cultural assumptions, apologizing will not resolve the conflict but make one side "wrong", the other "right", one the "good guy", the other the "bad guy".

[1] Caroline Rose, Sino-Japanese Relations: Facing the past, looking to the future?, Oxon: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005, p. 17.

[2] Chen Hong, ‘Can you say Sorry?’ Southern Metropolis Daily. May 15 2006.

[3] H. Hu, American goddess at the rape of Nanking: the courage of Minnie Vautrin, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. (2000) p. 80.

[4] Allen S. Whiting, China Eyes Japan, California: University of California Press Limited. (1989) p. 48.

[5] Eric Marquardt (2005), ‘Japan’s Nationalism Risks its Power Position in East Asia’.

[6] Chen Hong, ‘Can you say Sorry?’ Southern Metropolis Daily. May 15 2006.

[7] Chen Hong, ‘Can you say Sorry?’ Southern Metropolis Daily. May 15 2006.

[8] Chen Hong, ‘Can you say Sorry?’ Southern Metropolis Daily. May 15 2006.