On May 5th, an advertisement from a Japanese company was posted on China's social media Xiaohongshu (RED) and has become a hot topic.

【その他の写真】

The poster, titled "Does Japan in daily life dislike Chinese people?", uploaded a photo of a Yazaki Group advertisement they saw on the Shinkansen. They wrote, "What particularly caught my eye was that photos of employees from their Foshan, China branch were used. And prominently displayed were the words, 'A company that exists with the world, a company needed by society.' Recently, I feel that there aren't many opportunities to see advertisements with positive content related to China in Japan."

Photo from Xiaohongshu
Following that, the poster remarked, "Seeing this advertisement, it suddenly occurred to me that I don't really see acts (like harassment) targeting Chinese people in real life. Though it might just be that my range of activity is limited." Then, discussing this issue with a Japanese friend, they concluded that "Japan actually doesn't blindly hate Chinese people, but rather dislikes Chinese people who don't follow rules, cause trouble, or create their own arbitrary rules."

Finally, the poster also added, "Looking back, on the internet, both in China and Japan, there exist 'information barriers,' 'attacks from behind keyboards,' and extreme nationalism."

In response to this post, Chinese netizens commented with voices such as: "There are quite a few acts targeting Chinese people," "Honestly, there are also many Japanese people who don't follow those rules," "They say they dislike Chinese people who don't follow rules, but the standard for whether rules are followed is merely their subjective opinion. Even if you just walk around drinking a bit of water or speak Chinese at a normal volume, you'll be told you're being a nuisance (whereas a Japanese person wouldn't be)," "Rather than disliking China, they just look down on foreigners other than white people," and "If you look at Yahoo! Comments, you can clearly understand how Japanese people think about China."

Additionally, comments were seen pointing out, "Japan is a society with many rules. While some people live well by autonomously following rules, such a society lacks tolerance and freedom, and not a few people struggle to adapt. As a result, the suicide rate is high."

On the other hand, there were also comments like, "There are friendly people too. All the shop staff are very polite," "I've been to Japan 8 times, and I've had wonderful experiences every time," and opinions such as, "That's just how the world is. For example, Chinese people have stereotypes about Indians being dirty or not following rules. But in reality, there are many Indians who are not like that. In any case, individual actions shape a country's impression for foreigners."

Furthermore, comments were received such as: "They might not say it out loud, but there's an image they have of the other. However, when you actually interact with them, there are many good people among both Chinese and Japanese," "Every country has a small number of fervent nationalists. The majority of people in both China and Japan are friendly towards each other," "In the real world, conflicts are small. But they are magnified tenfold on TV and balloon a hundredfold on the internet," and "It's the same for both (Japan and China). The bravado is only online." (Translation/Editing by Kitada)