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Boycotts of Japanese products have been conducted by numerous Korean, Chinese and American civilian and governmental organizations in response to real or disputed Japanese aggression and atrocities, whether military, political or economic.
The first boycott of Japanese products in China was started 1915 as a result of public indignation at the Twenty-One Demands which Japan forced China to accept. In 1919, the students and intellectuals involved in the May Fourth Movement called for another boycott of Japanese products, to which the public responded enthusiastically. Local chambers of commerce decided to sever economic ties with Japan, workers refused to work in Japanese-funded factories, consumers refused to buy Japanese goods, and students mobilised to punish those found selling, buying or using Japanese products.
The Jinan Incident of 1928 prompted a new boycott. This time, the Kuomintang government mobilised the Chinese population to cease economic dealings with Japan. From then on, anti-Japanese protests in China would always be accompanied with boycotts of Japanese products.
The Japanese invasion of China in 1931 and the conquest of Manchuria were roundly criticized in the United States. In addition, efforts by citizens outraged at Japanese atrocities, such as the Nanking Massacre, led to calls for American economic intervention to encourage Japan to leave China; these calls played a role in shaping American foreign policy. As more and more unfavorable reports of Japanese actions came to the attention of the American government, embargoes on oil and other supplies were placed on Japan, out of concern for the Chinese populace and for American interests in the Pacific. The American public became increasingly pro-Chinese and anti-Japanese, an example being a grassroots campaign for women to stop buying silk stockings because the material was procured from Japan through its colonies. [1]
After World War II, the Chinese community, which was upset over various issues such as the sovereignty of Senkaku Islands, the Japanese history textbook controversies and Japanese leaders' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, would launch boycotts of Japanese products. Republic of China citizens started a boycott in September 1972 to protest Japan's diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China and twice burned Japanese products in front of the Taipei City Hall, which was coincidentally of Japanese construction.[ citation needed ]
In 2005, a new wave of boycotts were started in mainland China, concurrent with the anti-Japanese demonstrations in major Chinese cities at the time. However, this boycott was at best a fringe attempt, and was denounced by the mainstream population, citing that China was integrated into the world economy and a boycott of one of China's biggest trading partners would cause as much harm to China as it would to Japan.[ citation needed ] Most people were more concerned over their standards of living than redressing old grievances. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Relations gave a similar view: That "Sino-Japanese economic cooperation developed significantly over the past decade and brought real benefits to the people of both nations. We do not wish for economic issues to be politicised."[ citation needed ] As with the anti-Japanese demonstrations, these activists began organising boycotts using the internet and mobile phones.
In 2019, a new wave of boycotts were started in South Korea as a response to the 2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute. People participating in the movement started not buying Japanese products and services, travelling to Japan, and not watching Japanese-made films. [2] [3]
In March, 2019, Gyeonggi Province proposed an ordinance that would require schools to place a sticker on products made by some 284 Japanese companies (such as Nikon, Panasonic, and Yamaha which produce projectors and musical instruments for schools) that says "this product is made by a Japanese war criminal company". [4] [5] Of 27 members who put forward the bill, 25 belonged to the Democratic Party of Korea. [6] It was argued by proponents that the bill was not a boycott, but that it was to give students a correct understanding of history. In Sept 2019, Busan and Seoul Metropolitan Council successfully passed a non-binding ordinances to label products from the same list of companies. In Seoul, this would apply to new products, while the Busan law applies to products that were already purchased. [7]
There have a number of significant disputes between various Koreanic and Japonic states. The two regions have a long history of relations as immediate neighbors that has been marked with conflict. One of the most significant issues is the Japanese colonization of Korea that began with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 and ended with the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II.
A trade war is an economic conflict often resulting from extreme protectionism in which states raise or create tariffs or other trade barriers against each other in response to trade barriers created by the other party. If tariffs are the exclusive mechanism, then such conflicts are known as customs wars, toll wars, or tariff wars; as a reprisal, the latter state may also increase the tariffs. Trade war arises only if the competitive protection between states is of the same type and it is not valid in case of dumping exports. Increased protection causes both nations' output compositions to move towards their autarky position. Minor trade disagreements are often called trade disputes when the war metaphor is hyperbolic.
Anti-Japanese sentiment involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia.
For over 15 centuries, the relationship between Japan and Korea was characterized by cultural exchanges, economic trade, political contact and military confrontations, all of which underlie their relations even today. During the ancient era, exchanges of cultures and ideas between Japan and mainland Asia were common through migration via the Korean Peninsula, and diplomatic contact and trade between the two.
An anti-boycott, counter-boycott, or buycott is the excess buying of a particular brand or product in an attempt to counter a boycott of the same brand or product. Anti-boycott measures could also be in the form of laws and regulations adopted by a state to prohibit the act of boycott among its citizens.
Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Korea were formally established in August 1992. Before then, the PRC recognized only the Democratic People's Republic of Korea while South Korea in turn recognized only the Republic of China (Taiwan). South Korea was the last Asian country to establish relations with the People's Republic of China. In recent years, China and South Korea have endeavored to boost their strategic and cooperative partnership in numerous sectors, as well as promoting a high level relationship. Trade, tourism and multiculturalism, specifically, have been the most important factors of strengthening two neighbouring countries' cooperative partnership. Despite this, historical, political and cultural disputes have still played several roles on the relations between South Korea and China, especially with China being politically aligned with North Korea.
Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korean society has its roots in historic, cultural, and nationalistic sentiments.
The Port of Busan is the largest port in South Korea, located in the city of Busan, South Korea. Its location is known as Busan Harbor.
China–Japan relations or Sino-Japanese relations are the bilateral relations between China and Japan. The countries are geographically separated by the East China Sea. Japan has been strongly influenced throughout its history by China, especially by the East and Southeast through the gradual process of Sinicization with its language, architecture, culture, cuisine, religion, philosophy, and law. When Japan was forced to open trade relations with the West after the Perry Expedition in the mid-19th century, Japan plunged itself through an active process of Westernization during the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and began viewing China under the Qing dynasty as an antiquated civilization unable to defend itself against foreign forces—in part due to the First and Second Opium Wars along with the Eight-Nation Alliance's involvement in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion. Japan eventually took advantage of such weaknesses by invading China, including the First Sino-Japanese War and the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel, or Korea–Japan Undersea Tunnel, is a proposed tunnel project to connect Japan with South Korea via an undersea tunnel crossing the Korea Strait that would use the strait islands of Iki and Tsushima, a straight-line distance of approximately 128 kilometers (80 mi) at its shortest.
Japan–South Korea relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. As the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait geographically separate the two nations, political interactions date back from the 6th century when the kingdom of Baekje officially established relations with Japan. During the ancient era, the southern region of the Korean Peninsula often served as the closest port for Japan to engage in economic trade and cultural exchange to and from mainland Asia. By 1910, Korea would become a colony of Japan until 1945.
The Arab League boycott of Israel is a strategy adopted by the Arab League and its member states to boycott economic and other relations between Arabs and the Arab states and Israel and specifically stopping all trade with Israel which adds to that country's economic and military strength. A secondary boycott was later imposed, to boycott non-Israeli companies that do business with Israel, and later a tertiary boycott involved the blacklisting of firms that do business with other companies that do business with Israel.
There have been campaigns advocating for a boycott of products made in China. Commonly cited reasons for boycotting China include the alleged low quality of products, human rights issues, territorial conflicts involving China, support for separatist movements within China, and objection to more specific matters relating to China, including the government's mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a history of anti-Americanism in China, beginning with the general disdain for foreigners in the early 19th century that culminated in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which the United States Marine Corps participated with other powers in suppressing. The 1905 Chinese boycott of American goods to protest discrimination against the Chinese living in America had a major negative impact on Chinese attitudes. After the Chinese Civil War, the United States and China fought an undeclared war during the Korean War, in which 148,000 Chinese soldiers died, that left bitter feelings on both sides. Relations warmed up after 1970, but large-scale anti-American sentiments significantly increased since US President Donald Trump launched a trade war against China in the late 2010s.
Korea has had a long history of both resistance against and subordination to Imperial China. Until the onset of Western imperialism in the 19th century, Korea had been part of the sinocentric East Asian regional order.
The history of Japanese foreign relations deals with the international relations in terms of diplomacy, economics and political affairs from about 1850 to 2000. The kingdom was virtually isolated before the 1850s, with limited contacts through Dutch traders. The Meiji Restoration was a political revolution that installed a new leadership that was eager to borrow Western technology and organization. The government in Tokyo carefully monitored and controlled outside interactions. Japanese delegations to Europe brought back European standards which were widely imposed across the government and the economy. Trade flourished, as Japan rapidly industrialized.
An economic conflict between China and the United States has been ongoing since January 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump began setting tariffs and other trade barriers on China with the goal of forcing it to make changes to what the U.S. says are longstanding unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft. The Trump administration stated that these practices may contribute to the U.S.–China trade deficit, and that the Chinese government requires transfer of American technology to China. In response to US trade measures, the Chinese government accused the Trump administration of engaging in nationalist protectionism and took retaliatory action. After the trade war escalated through 2019, in January 2020 the two sides reached a tense phase one agreement; it expired in December 2021 with China failing by a wide margin to reach its targets for U.S. imports to China. By the end of the Trump presidency, the trade war was widely characterized as a failure for the United States. His successor, Joe Biden, however, has kept the tariffs in place. In early 2024, the Trump campaign was mulling a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
The Japan–South Korea trade dispute, also known as the Japan–South Korea economic war, was an economic conflict between Japan and South Korea.
In 2019, the boycott of Japanese products and travel began in South Korea due to trade disputes between South Korea and Japan.
The League of Women Shoppers (LWS) was an American consumer advocacy group that also participated in collective actions that worked towards social justice for workers. They also fought against racial discrimination of all kinds. LWS was founded in 1935 in New York City and Aline Davis Hays served as the first president. Chapters of LWS were formed in cities around the country. Members of LWS were involved in different actions. Some were involved in educating consumers on labor issues. Others watched legislation and put out alerts for members to contact their representatives about the issues. LWS members, most of whom were middle class or upper class women, participated in strikes and pickets and served as allies to working class women and African-American workers. Because of their collective action techniques and also because of animosity from members of another consumer group, Consumers' Research (CR), LWS was accused of Un-American activities in the early 1940s. They were blacklisted and members began to leave, causing the group to dissolve in 1949.