This time I would like tentatively to share some insights of Mr. Yasuyuki SUGIURA, Senior Fellow, China Division, Regional Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies, Ministry of Defense.
His title is:
China’s “Japan Neutralization” Policy and its Perception of Japan’s Circumstances: the Case of the Divide and Rule Policy toward the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Age of Discontinuity in Japan-China Relation
The Nagasaki Flag Incident, in which a Chinese national flag (the Five-starred Red Flag) was pulled down at a Chinese stamp and paper cut exhibition in Nagasaki, occurred in May 1958.
At this time, China announced that it would suspend all private-sector exchange between China and Japan.
This represented the first major difficulty for the movement to improve relations between China and Japan, which had developed using an incremental approach focused on economic and cultural exchange, since the signing of the first Sino-Japanese private trade agreement in 1952.
Therefore, due to the Nagasaki Flag Incident, postwar Sino-Japanese relations are regarded as entering a period of discontinuity.
However, these Chinese measures did not necessarily mean a total cessation of exchange between Japan and China.
China’s aim was to keep a close eye on the general election of the House of Representatives in May 1958, to encourage the activities of pro-Chinese forces, and to put pressure on Kishi Nobusuke’s administration.
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