【英语国际】不满释放船长 日本右翼向政府兴师问罪

A bitter confrontation with China following a ship collision in the East China Sea is fueling nationalism among Japan's conservative politicians and right-wing activists, energizing them in their attacks on Prime Minister Naoto Kan's center-left government.

As the dispute over the collision continues unabated, conservative lawmakers like former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara have harshly criticized the government's decision to release a captain under pressure from China, saying Japan needs to stand firm to defend its territory.

While Japan's general public, increasingly acclimated to the idea of a rich and powerful China, has shown a muted response to the latest tension, right-wing groups are beginning to raise their voices, with one group preparing for a big anti-China rally in Tokyo on Oct. 2. 'China made foolish mistake in awakening Asia's sleeping tiger,' wrote one person on a popular Internet chat page called Channel 2. 'Now every Japanese is tuned in on maritime disputes.'

On Tuesday, a group made up of roughly 100 conservative politicians led by Mr. Abe held a meeting in parliament and adopted a harshly worded statement criticizing the release Friday of the captain of the Chinese trawler that slammed into Japanese coast guard ships in disputed waters.

'We are standing at a watershed where our ability to defend the Japanese people and this nation itself is tested,' the group named Sosei Nihon, translated roughly as Creation Japan, said in its statement. 'We hereby declare we will resolutely seek to overthrow the Kan administration which has damaged our nation's interest, trust and dignity.'

Such criticism could add to the headache of Mr. Kan, who is already struggling with an internal party fight and attacks on his policies from opposition parties.

Government leaders tried to fend off the criticism. Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said at a parliamentary committee meeting Tuesday that Japan wouldn't hesitate to take similar action again if a Chinese ship commits a violation in what it considers its territory. 'The Senkaku islands are our unique territory. It's our natural right to defend its sovereignty,' he said. To gain understanding of the international community for Japan's stance vis-a-vis China, Mr. Kan will attend the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels next week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said.

China continues to demand apology and compensation for the sea captain's detention. However, its Foreign Ministry on Tuesday sounded a somewhat less confrontational tone than in other recent comments, though it emphasized that Tokyo must act to repair ties. 'China places importance on relations with Japan,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a routine briefing. 'For China-Japan ties to maintain healthy, stable growth requires both sides to work together in a common direction, and requires Japan to take genuine, practical action.'

Meanwhile, China kept up its pressure on Japanese businesses. Customs agents maintained their heavy scrutiny of inbound and outbound Japanese goods at Chinese ports on Tuesday, shipping agents said. Japan's trade ministry said that Tokyo is investigating how slowing imports from China are affecting Japanese companies and their overseas operations.

Amid the continued tension, some Japanese politicians are flashing nationalistic sentiment. Mr. Ishihara, a popular Tokyo governor known for his often-radical views, spent nearly all of his weekly press conference on Friday pounding on China and the Kan government.

'What China is doing is very similar to what organized crime groups do to expand their turf,' said Mr. Ishihara, who once helped to raise money to build a lighthouse on the main island of the disputed Senkaku islands known in China as Diaoyu. He later helped to have its successor lighthouse recorded on official navigation charts.

Asked if the incident may affect an agreement under which Tokyo's Ueno Zoo will get two giant pandas on loan from China early next year, Mr. Ishihara said: 'Are you asking if we will give up the Senkakus for pandas?' Mr. Ishihara said. 'The answer is quite obvious, isn't it?'

Right-wing nationalism -- usually directed at Japan's immediate neighbors rather than the U.S. -- has been a relatively small force in a country that has enforced pacifism and played down nationalism since World War II. But conservative activists often emerge as noisy voices -- sometimes literally, driving around urban streets in high-volume soundtrucks -- during contentious debates. They came out in force in recent months, for example, to oppose a now-stalled government proposal to give foreigners voting rights. The nationalism sometimes turns violent, such as the 1990 shooting that seriously injured the mayor of Nagasaki, who had questioned the role of Emperor Hirohito during the war. It has never been clear just how much power and influence right-wing nationalists really have, but incidents like the China tiff elevate their profile.

There have so far been few reported incidents of right-wing activists taking to the streets. Sunday, a 20-year-old man was arrested after he threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at the Chinese Consulate General in Nagasaki, police said. No injuries were reported. A 32-year-old man, who arrested with a cooking knife in his bag in front of the prime minister's residence in Tokyo Saturday, said he was there to protest the release of the sea captain.

中国东海船只相撞事件发生后，日本与中国的尖锐冲突在日本保守派政治家和右翼活动人士中激起了民族主义情绪，为他们攻击首相菅直人(Naoto Kan)的中左翼政府提供了动力。

如今在撞船争端仍未降温之时，保守派议员如前首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)和东京都知事石原慎太郎(Shintaro Ishihara)对政府出于中国压力释放其船长的决定予以了强烈批评，说日本要坚决捍卫它的领土。

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图片：中日撞船事件始末尽管对于中国富有而强大的观点愈加认同的日本普通民众在最近的紧张局势中表现出一种温和的反应，但右翼团体正开始提高嗓门，其中一个团体准备于10月2日在东京举行一场大型反华集会。有人在颇受欢迎的网络聊天室Channel 2中写道：中国犯了一个愚蠢的错误，唤醒了亚洲的沉睡之虎；现在每个日本人都在关注这场海上争端。

周二，一个由安倍晋三领导、约100名保守派政治家组成的团体在议会召开了会议，并发表了言辞犀利的声明，批评政府上周五释放了在有争议海域撞击日本海岸护卫船只的一艘中国渔船的船长。

这家名为Sosei Nihon（大意为创造日本）的团体在声明中说，我们正处在一个转折点，我们保护日本人民和这个国家的能力正受到检验。声明说，我们在此宣布，我们将坚决寻求推翻损害了我们国家利益、信任和尊严的菅直人政府。

这一批评对令菅直人来说好似火上浇油，他已经疲于应对党内斗争和反对派对其政策的攻击。

政府领导者也在尽力抵御这种批评。外务大臣前原诚司(Seiji Maehara)周二在一个议会委员会的会议上说，如果有中国船只在日本所认定的本国海域内有冒犯之举，日本将不会犹豫再采取类似行动。他说，尖阁列岛是只属于日本的领土，保护它的主权是我们的应有权力。日本内阁官房长官仙谷由人(Yoshito Sengoku)说，为争取国际社会对于日本对华立场的理解，首相菅直人下周将出席在布鲁塞尔举行的亚欧会议。

中国继续要求日本就船长被拘一事道歉并赔偿。不过中国外交部周二表现出的语气在一定程度上没有近期其他言论那么具有对抗性了，尽管它强调东京方面必须采取行动修复双边关系。外交部发言人姜瑜在例行记者会上说，中方重视中日关系，中日关系要保持稳定、健康发展，需要双方共同努力，相向而行，需要日方拿出坦诚、务实的行动。

同时，中国继续对日本贸易施加压力。货运代理商说，周二，海关人员继续对进出中国港口的日本商品进行繁琐的详细检查。日本贸易部门说，日本政府正在调查从中国进口的放缓对日本公司及其海外运营分支会有何种影响。

随着紧张局势的持续，部分日本政客突然表现出民族主义情绪。素以偏激观点闻名的东京都知事石原慎太郎在每周五举行的例行新闻发布会上几乎都在批判中国和菅直人政府。

石原慎太郎说，中国的所作所为与有组织的犯罪集团扩张地盘的行为无异。他曾协助筹集资金在有争议的尖阁列岛（中国称为钓鱼岛）的主岛上修建灯塔，后来又推动将第二个灯塔标注在官方航海图上。

当被问及该争端是否会影响东京上野动物园（Ueno Zoo）明年年初从中国租借两只大熊猫的协议，他说，你是问我们会不会为了熊猫放弃尖阁列岛吗？答案显而易见，不是吗？

从二战之后日本就一直奉行和平主义、抑制民族主义，通常针对日本的近邻而非美国的右翼民族主义力量在日本一直拥有较小的势力。但是保守派活动分子往往在争端发生时出来制造噪音，有时就真的开着车在市区街道上，用高音喇叭大肆宣传。例如，近几个月他们又出来反对赋予外国人投票权的政府提案，该提案目前处于僵持状态。民族主义有时会变成暴力事件，例如1990年长崎市市长因质疑昭和天皇裕仁（Emperor Hirohito）在二战中的责任而遭到枪击严重受伤。右翼民族主义分子真正有多大的力量和影响力尚不清楚，但中日争端等事件让他们有了更高的曝光率。

目前很少有右翼活动分子上街游行的报道。警察说，周日，一名20岁男子向中国驻长崎领事馆投掷类似烟幕弹的东西之后被捕。未有伤亡报告。周六，在日本首相位于东京的住所前，一名32岁男子因包中藏有菜刀被捕，他说，他是去那里抗议释放中国船长的。