Republict of the Philippines-Japan Relationship
The relationship between the Republic of the Philippines and Japan dated back before the Spanish Colonization of the Philippines; in the Japanese history the period was called the Muromachi Period. The relationship of this two country is mixed with issues that are related to trade, Aid and security issues. I think that the relationship between the Philippines and the Japanese started when Japanese Merchants, gardeners and prostitute or Karayuki san settled in Luzon especially in the area of Dilao, were in they have established a small society in the area of Dilao and numbered between 300 up too 400 in 1593 they have considered the Philippines to be there place most especially because they have discovered that they can build up business here, that have help our countries economy. In the areas of Davao and Mindanao ethnic Japanese also settle there and populated over 20, 000 but in the year 1935 the Japanese people had dominated 35% of the retail trade of the Philippines .
Extensive agricultural holdings and natural resource development was some of the investments that the Japanese had contributed to our economy and by the year 1940 Japan had exports metals namely iron, copper, manganese and chrome. The settlements of the Japanese people here in our county have been a good thing before the Spanish colonization most especially to our economy because it had helped our country to have huge investments. But the bad thing there for me is that they almost dominated the whole Dilao and they also harass and kill most of our Filipino people which is wrong.
Official trade between Japan and the Philippines also took place through the Red Seal Ship system or Shuinjo it is a permit that was given to feudal lords by the first rule of Tokugawa Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu, so he could control Japanese traders and in order to reduce piracy in the south sea it also guarantees protection of the ships. There were 30 Red seal Ship passports that were issued between Philippines and Japan in 1604 and 1616. During the year of 1929 Japan was our second largest trading partner and after a long time by the end of 1950’s individual investors and Japanese companies return to the Philippines to continue investing. In our generation today the recent Treaties between the Philippines and Japan is the JPEPA or Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, where in it is renewed every five years. The problem in JPEPA is that when it comes to choosing a product, in our country consist of rules when it comes to trading between Japan and the Philippines. Before the ties and the trading had happen the Japanese had been a problem to our country most especially during the Commonwealth Government. Japanese Forces and the Filipino Military had been fighting because the Japanese military wants to dominate our country that’s why our country tried to seek help from the Americans but unfortunately during that time the Pearl Harbor was also bombed and the forces of the Americans were not enough during that time but they did not let that stop them they still continue to fight with the Japanese and the Filipino farmers formed a guerilla army. Before fighting with the Japanese the Filipino farmer held a meeting in the year 1942 in Cabiao, Bueva Ecija and called there group Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon or HUKBALAHAP and there leader was Castro Alejandrino and the members are called Huks .
December 8, 1941 was the day were in the cruelty of the Japanese Forces happened were in they had invaded our country and considered to be legendary because the Japanese troops had first invaded Clark Air base in Pampanga and landed in Lingayen gulf and had cross to central Luzon towards Manila 10 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Manila was occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942. The Japanese Military have advance that’s why General McArthur declared the city of manila to be an Open City mainly because of the advice of President Quezon on December 25, 1941 and temporarily the government was transferred to corridor. General MacArthur tried to help the Philippines to get the country back together with his troops on October of 1944, currently Osmena was the president of our country he preceded Quezon after his death. There were millions of Filipinos died and many towns and cities, including Manila, were left in ruins. But unfortunately on April 9, 1942 the Filipino military and US troops surrendered to Japan in Bataan. After surrendering the Japanese Military declared a Death March where in 7,000 -10,000 died because of murder before arriving at the internment camps ten days later.
That time the Filipino people was considered to be a support to the United States Army, were in the country receive lots of awards such as Philippine Defense Medal, Independence Medal and Liberation Medal.
In 1606-1607 the Japanese had a rebellion in Dilao against the Spaniards and Tokugawa Leyasu mainly because Christianity was banned, theree were 300 refuges from Japan that had settled in the Philippines under the leadership of Takayama Ukon.
The Second Philippine Republic Came during the 1943 that was later called the puppet government but due to the Imperial Japanese Army brutal act towards the Filipinos the Second Philippine Republic was not that know to the people. In the year 1896 Spaniards were trying to colonize the country and after two years in 1898 of colonizing it ended to a Spanish-American War the Philippine Government have no choice but to ask for the help of the Japanese despite of the war and the death march that they have cause us and millions of people die they have no choice. Although the Japanese were unwilling and unable to help us they still did they send weapons and raise funds to helps us but the unfortunately Nunobiki-maru the ship that was suppose to help us sank before arriving.
The assistance that the Japanese that had given us during the war against the Spaniards had help us to regain the trust that had been broken during the Guerilla War because as I have said before the colonizing of the Spaniards we’ve been accepting Japanese merchants, gardeners and prostitutes to enter our country.
Signing Treaties between the Philippines and Japan also happened by the year of 1951, the Philippines and the Japan had sign a peace treaty that was called the San Francisco Peace Treaty and by the year 1956 the diplomatic relations between this two country was re-established that included a war reparations agreement.
The treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation was signed in 1960 but was not effective in the year 1973 because of the declaration of the late President Ferdinand Marcos to abolished the Philippines legislature under the martial law and all the three treaty’s was ratified after ten days after the visit of Japan’s Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. After the Martial Law the first lady president of the country President Corazon Aquino visited Japan and meet with the Emperor of Japan Emperor Hirohito and said sorry to the president because of the wrong things that Japan had done to the country during the World War II. During The visit of the president there where foreign aid agreement that were agreed. Aquino returned to Japan in 1898 for the funeral of Hirohito and in 1990 for the enthronement of Emperor Akihito.
When it comes to cultural basis Japan had practiced Imperialism as a type of system which can be one of the factors why they have been involved to World War II, we can see it as one of the reason because they want to compete with the expansion of their territory against the Westerners. While our country, The Philippines has been involved to WWII because we are a previous colony of US and Japan wants to compete with them, we are used as an instrument basing on the theory of Realism which constitutes the so called struggle for power. There are also allot of difference between our culture and belief’s one example is the movie that I have
watch in my other class by the Japanese author Akutagawa were in it shows there that Japanese don’t practice embalmment they just cleanse the dead and wrap them with a white cloth and put them inside the coffin. Also the religion of Japan is Shintoism which means the way of the Gods In our country our religion is Roman Catholic and we only believe in one God but there are also some religions here in our country that believes in other Gods Like Iglesia ni Christo, Born Again and Islam. Maybe one thing that our country and the Japanese have in common is when it comes to Family because both the Philippines and Japan value there Family. The Japanese also eat raw foods like fish meat etc while we Filipinos are choosy we don’t eat raw food we sometimes like the meat cook well.
I think that when it comes to cultural belief’s there are also some things that we are common with Japan and most Filipino people likes to buy products from Japan because its cheaper but as we all know sometimes the material used to do that certain product is bought from the Philippines but made in Japan. For examples Cell Phones, dolls cloth etc, but the income from that product doesn’t go to us but to them I remember my teacher in introduction to economics told to the class that export is considered injections to other country meaning this doesn’t help our economy but it helps the other country’s economy. Sometimes I think that the main problem between the relationship between Japan and the Philippines is that Japan is unfair I feel that they are just using us for example in World War II they had fight with us to get our lands but in the back of my mind I just think that the Japanese really wants to fight with the American because they know that Philippines is I think partners with the US.
I think that in the early times during the presidency of President Osmena the country should not be dependent with the US, in the first place instead of being dependent to US they should have made a policy that the Philippines should not let other nationality to dominate the land even though it is still not independent maybe they should ask the help of the US in getting the Independence of the Philippines that’s a better way right?. Now a days we can see that the relationship between the Philippines and Japan is good but what about in the next five years the government I think should make a policy, a policy that will have equal trading between countries even though the other country is so powerful and influential. Today that our current President Benigno “noynoy” Aquino won I hope that he will formulate a Policy were in we Filipinos will not be abuse when I mean abuse our right to be equal with other country. I also hope that now that we have a new president and he promise change in our lives I hope that he can keep it that we will not be dependent in other country most especially to the Americans.
Soursec: http://www.dlshq.org/religions/shintoism.htm, Sri Swami Sivananda, July 19, 2010, Shintoism
Philippine and Trade Relation Notes
http://www.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/fw6.html, July 18, 2010, World War II Japanese Occupation 1941-1945
http://www.bookrags.com/research/japan-philippines-relations-ema-03/, July 19, 2010, Philippine Japanese Relation
http://www.philippine-history.org/japanese-occupation.htm, July18, 2010, Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II
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