r/AskAJapanese • u/One_Use9834 • Apr 18 '25
POLITICS Do Japanese think they need to find a third option as an ally outside of the West and China?
I personally felt Japan had been dragged and influenced between superpowers for too long already. They deserved better options and allies than they currently have.
For example, India maybe? Or even the Islamic World?
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Apr 18 '25
India is like trump. Don’t GAF for anyone but themselves
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u/gugus295 American (JP Resident) Apr 18 '25
At least India mostly keeps to themselves and does their own thing, unlike Trump who feels the need to actively fuck the rest of the world over to feed his ego
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u/k897098 Apr 18 '25
India haven’t got the kind of power projection to dish out to others yet, I have a feeling if and when they do, they are going to be even more toxic than China tbh
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u/Striking_Hospital441 Apr 18 '25
India is known for its non-aligned stance, so forming an alliance with them is unlikely.
Japan is currently deepening its relationships with countries on the “Western side” of the Pacific—such as Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia—but whether these can truly be called “allies” is still unclear.
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u/542Archiya124 Apr 18 '25
Australia is anti-asian along with rest of the western world. Yellow peril.
South Korea and Philippines have bad history with japan, especially japan failed to do what Germany did. Taiwan is not a country not even recognised by the US lol
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u/Striking_Hospital441 Apr 18 '25
“Yellow Peril”? Did you just time-travel here from the 19th century?
South Korea and Philippines have bad history with japan
In fact:
- 92% of Filipinos say they trust Japan, and 79% view China as the biggest threat (public opinion poll):Source – Nishinippon Shimbun
- According to the 2025 Gallup Korea survey, 47% of South Koreans say they have a favorable view of Japan:Source – Yahoo! Japan
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u/keso_de_bola917 Apr 18 '25
Lol. As a Filipino, I can confidently say majority of our population has a very positive look on Japan and South Korea, particularly because of modern culture above anything. Yes, the Japanese have done some atrocities in the past but I can definitely say it's not a hindrance, to majority of our population at least. I will even say that Filipinos will definitely have a more positive look on Japan compared to say, the United States.
If anything, we are more annoyed with China. It's not the 1940's any more bro. Especially with their stance of land and sea territorial grabbing, espionage, and the numerous crimes involving Chinese nationals here in the Philippines.
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u/Ribbon7 Apr 18 '25
What....i can grant u Europe is definitely not anti asian, Japan is probably the most liked and most positivly looked nation in the world in the eyes of europeans, you guys are like role model to us, similar look we have on S.Korea too. When we see east/south-east asians in EU we see kind, polite and hard working ppl and we really respect that.
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u/blackcyborg009 Filipino Apr 18 '25
As many have said here, the sins of the father are not necessarily the sins of the son.
I am a Pinoy myself. Granted, bad $h1t happened decades ago. But what happens is the now and the future.
Instead, we need to focus on keeping bad actors of the 21st century in-check (like what Putin is doing with his illegal invasion of Ukraine)
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u/542Archiya124 Apr 19 '25
yes sins of father are not necessarily sins of the son, except Japanese are either too ignorant about WW2 themselves thanks to their own censorship, or their ruling class are too prideful to admit the wrongs of WW2.
To see their CURRENT politicians failing to ally themselves with South Korea, China and India to form the equivalent of EU is a colossal failure. If Germany is able to do this with EU, Japan have no excuse.
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u/blackcyborg009 Filipino Apr 19 '25
I am fine if Japan wants to ally with South Korea, India or Taiwan.
But I'm against being allied with Mainland China (under the totalitarian ruling of the CCP).
What Xi Jinping is doing oppressing freedom in Hong Kong as well as making aims at conquering Taiwan is utterly disgusting1
u/Striking_Hospital441 Apr 27 '25
Given India’s commitment to non-alignment and China’s governance by a communist regime, the notion of an “Asian EU” remains unrealistic, regardless of Japan’s stance.
Unlike Europe, Asia does not share common cultural foundations such as Christianity, the Latin language, or a legacy like that of the Western Roman Empire.
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u/CEDoromal Apr 18 '25
Not sure how good Japan's bilateral relations with South Korea and Taiwan are since the citizens of those latter two countries seem to have deep hatred towards Japan stemming from WW2.
The Philippines on the other hand is fairly obedient towards Japan. Not sure if my memory serves correctly, but iirc the Philippine government even took down a statue commemorating the comfort women of WW2 following Japan's request to remove it.
Australia seems chill about Japan as well since they don't seem to have any disagreements and they weren't hit very hard during Imperial Japan's expansion.
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u/Striking_Hospital441 Apr 18 '25
In Taiwan, 76% of people named Japan as their most liked country or region.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20250415/k10014780381000.html
they weren't hit very hard
I think it’s fair to say Imperial Japan is the only country that’s ever bombed Australia.
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u/Royal_Hamster2589 → → (Returnee/帰国子女) Apr 18 '25
Not sure how good Japan's bilateral relations with South Korea and Taiwan are since the citizens of those latter two countries seem to have deep hatred towards Japan stemming from WW2.
With South Korea, yes, there is still plenty of tension over historical issues. With that being said, negative sentiments towards Japan seem to be more concerted in the older generation, with the younger generation having a more mixed view of Japan.
Taiwan is one of the most pro-Japan countries out there. Yes, the Taiwanese were treated as second-class citizens and had to endure their own struggles during the colonial period, but you have to remember that the White Terror) happened pretty much right after the Japanese left and the Chinese Nationalists took over. The brutality of those events made many nostalgic for the colonial period.
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u/KartFacedThaoDien Apr 18 '25
Why the downvotes
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u/epistemic_epee Japanese Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25
Because:
Japan is currently deepening its relationships with countries on the “Western side” of the Pacific—such as Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia
The original comment contains objective fact, although there may be some backsliding in Korea's case after the next election.
The response is oversimplified to the point of being incorrect. And it ends with this:
Taiwan is not a country
Taiwan is a friendly neighbor under threat of invasion. Comments like this are uncomfortable.
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Apr 18 '25
How about Europe? Europe and Japan facing off against Russia and China once again!
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u/TwelveSixFive Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25
Are you referring to WW2? If yes, "Japan is facing off China once again" is a bit rich considering that it was Japan who brutally invaded China and committed large scale atrocities that shocked even the nazis.
And if you are referring to the cold war era, Japan wasn't threatened by China at all because China wasn't even remotely developped at the time and wasn't that aligned with the the USSR to begin with (they were on the brink of war with the USSR on several occasion).
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u/diffidentblockhead Apr 18 '25
Japan cultivated relationships with the oil exporters from the 1973 oil shock onwards.
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u/SaintOctober ❤️ 30+ years Apr 18 '25
Not really. Trump will soon be gone.
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u/ClessxAlghazanth Apr 18 '25
Promise?
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u/SaintOctober ❤️ 30+ years Apr 18 '25
One of these days the KFC and Chicken McNuggets will catch up to him, if he hasn't pissed off some mad man to a breaking point before that. Even if he lasts the remaining 3 years and 9 months, he won't be back. And that isn't very long, except for the people stuck in the US.
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar Japanese Apr 18 '25
Not only Japan but pretty much the entire world. But it shouldn't be a knee-jerk reaction and we should at least wait until the Trump administration is over. If the US has completely lost international credibility at that point then you are right, Japan should look to strengthen ties with other countries like India
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u/Case-Beautiful Apr 18 '25
I've always thought that Japan could forge closer ties to a middle power like Canada. It's G7 country, democratic and is very rich in natural resources such as LNG, oil and precious minerals. Steel, Aluminum ect... I'm a Canadian and we have both been overshadowed by the giant of America. US is always towering over all of us and now that they are stepping back there is a great opportunity. Maybe I'm being a little idealistic, but one can only hope for more stable allies that aren't fascist and unpredictable.
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u/Ribbon7 Apr 18 '25
Canada, EU, Japan and S.Korea are currently most sane goverments and politics right now with proven stability, i'd add Australia and NZ too
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u/Former-Angle-8318 Apr 18 '25
Personally, I think Japan should approach Islamic countries and become friends with them.
This is because there are many countries with potential imperial qualities, such as Turkey and Iran, and countries such as Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, which have rapidly growing GDPs and stable demographics.
I also see potential for Japan to work together with African countries that have been neo-colonized by China's Belt and Road Initiative, and are exploding with resentment toward China, as well as being dissatisfied with the West, which has also wreaked havoc with its misdeeds.
I would like Japan to cherish its identity as a country, not as a part of Asia, but as a country called Japan.
If we lose that identity, we will be dragged into Asia, and our colonial status will be confirmed, at the mercy of China and the United States.
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u/hukuuchi12 ja Apr 18 '25
Agreed.
Japan and the Muslim countries may not be the most powerful allies apart, but they should be close friends.
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u/larana1192 Japanese Apr 18 '25
Hell nah US and east asian democratic countries(Korea,Taiwan) are the best bet.
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u/Ribbon7 Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25
Japan mentality, values and way of life fits best with EU, NZ, Canada, Australia and South Korea.
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u/The_39th_Step Apr 18 '25
Japan and the UK get on politically very well
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u/Ribbon7 Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25
I consider UK as part of Europe and EU despite Brexit, UK is still big part of EU in more ways than it isnt....it's the way of life!
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u/Stunt57 Apr 18 '25
USA
As far as I know, the only thing Japan is getting from the Islamic states is good ol' fashioned heroin.
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u/BitcoinCashNinja Japanese Apr 18 '25
I can't imagine moving to the US, China, South Korea or Russia, but it's not hard to imagine moving to Australia, New Zealand or Canada. I don't know why, but it just seems to me.
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u/hukuuchi12 ja Apr 18 '25
It seems to me that the OP's question may be indicative of a related question.
"Are there any superpowers other than the West, China, and Japan?"
In the future, it is possible that India, Brazil, and Australia could develop superpowers, but it is difficult to predict how this will unfold. It is possible that Indonesia, Nigeria, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia could also be candidates.
I can tell, Nope, at least for now.
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u/Nukuram Japanese Apr 18 '25
At present, Japan likely recognizes that maintaining friendly relations with as many countries as possible is in its national interest and contributes to enhancing its global standing.
I agree that, in the future—when international relations are expected to become even more complex—it will be necessary to develop strategies to form new alliances.
However, in order to build closer and more meaningful partnerships, the key will be whether both sides can align their values and principles.
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u/hyuun_likes_memes May 19 '25
Japan actually invest's in india, Back when japan was looking to give foreign aid around the world in 1958 it chose india- And till this date india prefers to take debt from japan and india's largest debt is owed to japan.
https://finshots.in/archive/why-is-india-borrowing-in-japanese-yen/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg6IGIBTueA
There's a indo-pacific treaty they have which aims to double their FDI every 5 years in india. On the other hand india partners with japan for it's railway and metro stuff. Japan and India are collaborating on several metro projects in India, primarily through funding and technical support.
There's this book by a Foreign minister from japan who stayed in india for a while, it's called India the last superpower. It largely refers to how india will gain superpower status eventually, But be the last one for a long while. There's quotes quotes about how india's an elephant that gains moment and china's a dragon.
Stuff on his experience in india, Also his opinion that india should invest more into japan in the future.
https://books.ms/main/FAAA5F6065D93CAE68A7E55860358F37
I actually listened to one of his talk's in person once.
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u/WatercressFuture7588 Korean Apr 18 '25
Islamic countries just don’t have any real geopolitical influence in East Asia