Anti-American Sentiment in Japan and South Korea Led to the Arrival of U.S. Aircraft Carriers

Since the beginning of 2010, the United States has sent out the aircraft carriers USS George Washington, USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan to Asia, and has conducted nearly 30 large scale military exercises with its Asia-Pacific allies. Of these exercises, the most frequent and the largest joint exercises are conducted with South Korea and Japan. Most media outlets think the fact that three large aircraft carriers have concentrated in Asia shows that America has concentrated its global strategy to focus on countries west of the Pacific Ocean. They think this is a provocative maneuver aimed at North Korea by the U.S. They even think that America is going to go to war with China, in an attempt to repudiate its huge debt. Many people believe that North Korea’s provocation towards South Korea caused America to make this decision. In reality, feelings of loathing for America in Japan and South Korea have increased constantly in recent years. This is the major reason why America’s grand aircraft carriers have made their majestic voyage toward East Asia.

Entering the 21st century, America has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Though it was able to overthrow the Taliban and Saddam Hussein very quickly, due to the strong protests and opposition in these two countries, America has fallen into a quagmire from which it cannot extricate itself. For this reason, America is facing an unprecedented financial crisis. Facing an enormous economic crisis, America has no choice but to extend its reach toward Japan and South Korea. It is pressuring them to take on the burden of the costs of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, this has incurred the strong dissatisfaction of the people of Japan and South Korea, increasing their level of protest, which makes Washington extremely uneasy and afraid. The White House believes that if the U.S. military leaves Japan and South Korea, it will lose its rights as a dominant power in Asia. For this reason, the Pentagon has led dozens of farces in the forms of military exercises.

60 percent of Japanese believe Japan is a colony

Last year 35,000 Japanese civilians led a “protest against the siege” and formed a 13-km long human chain, chanting “Americans get out of Okinawa” and “U.S. military bases must be unconditionally returned.” They formed an impenetrable circle around the Futenma air base. A Japanese official strongly urged America to close the base at Futenma immediately and leave Japan permanently. When then-Prime Minister Hatoyama was in office, he promised the Japanese people that by the end of May 2010 he would move the American military outside of Japan, gaining high praise from Japanese voters. Hatoyama planned to play hardball with the White House, which gave him unprecedented levels of support. Unfortunately, Hatoyama’s plans were never realized: after receiving extreme pressure from the White House, he dejectedly left office.

Authorities also did not dare protest against America, not against its wanton control of the Japanese yen exchange rate or even the rape of Japanese school girls by American military personnel. In the past few years, Washington has not only required Japan to make timely payments for the costs of the American military, but also required Tokyo to pay for a large portion of the cost of the American military’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Its excuse is that this allowed America to guarantee Japan’s security. In order to save its auto industry, the United States made a big issue out of Toyota’s mistakes, forcing the chairman of Toyota to take the blame in Congress and apologize profusely. This was the most atrocious form of trade protectionism in the world. Tens of thousands of Japanese investors purchased America’s poisoned treasury bonds and nearly went bankrupt. For this reason, 60 percent of Japanese already consider themselves to be truly colonized by the U.S.

Catering to the American military to resolve the beef crisis

In South Korea there have been many large-scale demonstrations in Seoul protesting imported American beef of dubious quality. According to estimates by the organizers of these demonstrations, over 100,000 people have repeatedly participated in demonstrations. Protestors include middle school students, university students, civil servants, workers and other groups. Some protestors even tried to enter President Lee Myung-bak’s office and residence, the Blue House, and also took extreme measures such as breaking police cars. As a result, hundreds of people were arrested by the police. The opposition believes that consuming questionable beef causes mad cow disease. Since not even Americans are willing to eat it, it should be banned. Even American media sources believe that convincing South Koreans to eat American beef is a difficult battle.

The other reason young South Koreans hate America is the permanent American military base that constantly causes noise and pollution. The headquarters of the U.S. military in Seoul flies the American flag, signifying that South Korea is a country occupied by U.S. troops. An article in American publication “Foreign Policy in Focus” also believes that the strongest reason why South Koreans oppose America is because America does not recognize South Korea’s national identity.