Island Row Can Turn Ugly Again
As predicted by TTAC after Chinese demonstrations against Japan’s control of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands turned into violence against Japanese cars and car dealerships in China, the matter turned into a severe sales setback for Japanese car companies in China, more severe than initially thought, or hoped . Also as predicted by TTAC, the islands did affect the sales of Japan’s carmakers more than the tsunami. Last Saturday in Shanghai, Toyota’s China chief confirmed that the pain would be felt at least through August. This was before he heard the really bad news.
On Sunday, three ministers of Japan’s government visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, a place where Japan’s A-Class war criminals along with other war dead were put to an uneasy rest. These visits had enraged China’s rulers in the past, and they did so again. Severely.
Making matters worse, a flotilla of boats carrying more than 80 Japanese nationalists arrived in waters near the islands on Tuesday . The flotilla of 10 boats was tracked by eight Chinese government ships, while ships of the Japanese Coast Guard tried to chase off both Japanese nationalists and Chinese government boats. The Nikkei [sub] says that “a record number” of Chinese are in Japanese waters, causing fears that “tensions between the two East Asian powers may be returning after a period of relative calm.”
Renewed tensions will trigger a flare-up of anti-Japanese discussions in Chinese social media, which won’t help the still lagging sales on Japanese cars in China. New ugly demonstrations would put a serious dent into Japanese plans for China. Japanese carmakers most likely won’t be too sympathetic for the Sunday outings of their ministers.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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"China is the future, Japan is literally dying off ............." True in a sense, but the political situation is far more complex than that. Start with the conflict between both Koreas. Then add China's claim over Taiwan. For spice add Vietnam, Philipines, Cambodia, etc, etc. Too many age-old resentments in the region, which also has become perhaps the world's most important economic area. For which the USA, and shall I add, most of the world, is fully invested in. From Korean supertankers and LCD displays, Japanese robots and microchips, Taiwanese motherboads and ASICs and most everything Chinese, the world needs the products built in those countries. Again, a lose-lose proposition.
China is pushing outward in many directions. Elsewhere Al-jazeera is reporting about India asking China to withdraw troops China marched 10km into Indian territory on April 15th. If you are following this you can see that the Chinese government is pushing every boundary it can. I think they are desperate for resources and rather than trade for them are trying to own the resources outright. Could you imagine what the USA would do if someone marched troops 10km into our country? The restraint exercised by India I think is amazing but also think China takes advantage of the fact that countries don't really want war and is willing to push to gain as much as they can irregardless of the political cost.