Coordinating Economic Interests with defending Democratic Values in relationship with China seems difficult for Germany. Well, it is not so, believes Japan, which has shown the world that one should not be afraid of the Asian Giant.

In an article, the Every Morning Asia online portal recently stated that Japan has shown over the past decade that it is possible to separate Economic Interests in relation with China from defending National Interests and Democratic Values. Both Japan and Germany ended the Second World War defeated, established themselves in the post-war period as Economic (and not Military) Powerhouses, and adopted a pacifist stance in their Foreign Affairs.

However, there are also some differences at play. Germany was in the front line during the Cold War between the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union. Japan might now share that position in another one… between the US and China. This makes Japan vulnerable without a clear strategy on how to protect its interests, and deal with the unpredictable.

In 2013, the then Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, recognised the country’s security and foreign apparatus by establishing a National Security Council and issuing Japan’s first National Security Strategy. The current Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, established a new Cabinet post, that of the Minister of Economic Security, responsible with securing Japan’s critical supply chains and better respond to economic coercion, and appointed a former Defence Minister as his Special Adviser on Human Rights.

Although these moves have not been put on China, they are definitely motivated by both Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and Chinese economic coercion towards Australia.

The Government of Germany should take notes on the Japanese way, since Berlin has been divided between those who feared not to harm Germany’s economic interests with China by speaking too much on Chinese behaviour, and others seeking a tougher stance on China. In dealing with China, Germany might take a look at numbers. Nearly 20% of Japanese exports went to China in 2020, compared to around 9% of German total exports, an issue that did not stop Tokyo from taking a lead in defending the old order from the new reality posed by China.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das