ashley sheppard honours thesis 2014 - is 499
TRANSCRIPT
University of Regina IS 499 – Honours Thesis
Cross Border Media Analysis of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute
Maritime Territorial Dispute Case Study: Japan and China
Ashley Sheppard
4/18/2014 Abstract: The purpose of this study is to provide a sophisticated interpretation of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute and its underlying causes as perceived by the media of four different countries; Japan, China, America, and Britain. To accomplish this, a cross border media analysis of eight newspapers will be conducted based on the following seven main issues or topics that appeared repeatedly in the initial research for the paper: Nationalism/Public Sentiment, Bilateral Relations, Historical Tensions, Natural Resources, Chinese Assertiveness, Future Military Conflict, and Sovereignty. The newspapers will be analyzed on their objectivity and or biases, as well as their perceived relevancy of each of the seven topics.
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………….3
I. Background Information………………………………………………………….…4II. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………….………..9
Literature Review………………………………………………………………..10
Methodology………………………………………………………….…………..20
Results and Observations ……………….….…………………………………...22
I. Comprehensive Results……………………………………………………….……23II. The Japan Times (Japan)…………………………………………..…....……..…...29III. Mainichi Shimbun (Japan)………………………………………………….……...30IV. The Global Times (China)………....…………….…....………………….………...31V. The People’s Daily (China)…………………………………………….…………..32VI. The New York Times (USA)……………………………………….……………....33VII. CNN (USA)…………………………………………….…………....……………...34VIII. The Guardian (UK)……………....………………....………….…………………...35IX. The Economist (UK)……………………………………………....……………….36
Discussion and Analysis…….…..…………………………………………….…37
I. Japan…………………..…….. …………………………..………………..………..39II. China……………..……….……………………………..…………………........…..39III. America………….……………………………………….…………………...…......40IV. Britain…………..…....………………………..………….…………………....…….41V. Further Points…………………………………………………..…..…….…………..41
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………….43
Bibliography………………………………………………….…………………..45
Introduction
Territorial disputes between sovereign states are, and have always been, a critical part of
International Relations, and more specifically International Security. Island nations in particular
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have a significant interest in maintaining, and at times expanding, their territorial boundaries.
Recently, there has been an upsurge of activity in Asia related to disputes over various islands in
the region; several of these disputes involving China and Japan. This research paper will
examine a conflict between these two major economic players over a small group of islands
referred to as the Diaoyus by China and the Senkakus by Japan. In order to accomplish this, a
cross media newspaper analysis of the issue will be conducted by examining the content and
biases of eight newspapers from four different countries. The first two countries will be China
and Japan as they are the main actors in the conflict; the second two will be America and Britain,
who in this study will represent the mainstream opinion of western media. Analyzing these four
countries in particular will provide both insider and outsider perspectives on the dispute as well
as insight into how newspapers of different countries regard the conflict based on their own
national interests. Specifically, the study will examine nine articles from each of the eight
newspapers for a total of seventy-two articles dating from April, 2012 to March, 2014. This two
year period allows for a strong focus on the most recent information and events relating to the
conflict, in particular the nationalization of the islands by Japan in September, 2012, and will
provide an up to date exploration of the issue. It is this author’s hypothesis that this cross border
media analysis will reveal two main results. Firstly, that certain topics and biases will transcend
national boundaries and therefore will be consistent across each newspaper analyzed. Secondly,
that each newspaper, due to its national environment, will indicate a stronger interest in certain
topics rather than others, as well as certain biases in each of those topics.
It is important to note that this paper makes several basic assumptions about the media
and why it is an important analytical tool that must be understood before meaning can be derived
from the results of the study. The first is that ordinary citizens get their information about
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complex global issues and events from the media. Secondly, that the media are experts in
deciphering and giving meaning to these issues and events based on the advantages that their
profession offers. Thirdly, that the media are not always neutral and can be biased based on the
interests of the governments of their nation of origin, or based on their own personal cultural
biases. Two further points relating to this research are that although Taiwan has also laid claim to
the islands, this paper will focus solely on Japan and China as the main actors in the dispute, as
this author does not wish to delve into the issue of Taiwanese sovereignty. Lastly, the outcome of
the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands can only be determined
by the national decisions and actions of each of those countries. The purpose of this study is not
to predict that outcome but rather to provide a sophisticated interpretation of the Senkaku/Diaoyu
islands dispute and its underlying causes as perceived by the media across several continents.
The question this paper seeks to answer is, how are the media of different countries portraying
the conflict to not only the public but the decision makers of those countries and what issues do
they perceive to be of the most importance for the conflict overall?
I. Background Information
At first glance, the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands appear to be a group of small and
insignificant group of islands located centrally between Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost
islands, Okinawa. Yet despite their unassuming image, these islands have been the source of a
major controversy, and quite possibly conflict, between two of Asia’s most prominent economic
powers going as far back as 1895. Although China is involved in several other disputes with its
neighbours, most prominently with the Philippines in the South China Sea, in the past two years
this particular dispute has come to the forefront of the policy agenda of not only Japan and
China, but the United States as well as the International community.
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The islands in question are made up of “five main islets with a total area of just over six
sq km (2.3 sq miles), covered in rock, scrub brush and seabird habitat. They have been
uninhabited since 1940, when a fish processing plant on the main island closed, and were under
US administration from the end of the Second World War until 1972, when they were returned to
Japanese control” (The Guardian, f). “The islands are surrounded by fisheries and potentially
valuable energy resources, but the dispute has been fuelled further by long-running historical
tensions over Japan's brutal occupation of China in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as Japanese
anxieties over China's growing might” (The Guardian, d). During the 1972 normalization talks
that led to the successful bilateral relationship that Japan and China share today, the two
nations had agreed to “shelve the issue relating to sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands”
(Mainichi, Shimbun, a). The event that took this conflict ‘off the shelf’ so to speak was Japan’s
nationalization of the islands in September of 2012.
On September 11th of 2012 the Japanese government announced that it had purchased
three of the five islands in the chain for approximately $30 million dollars from their previous
Japanese owners (The New York Times, c). Japan’s reason for nationalizing the islets was to
head off a “potentially explosive attempt” by right-wing nationalists, most prominently former
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, to purchase them, “with the intention of developing them and
using them to prove Japan’s rightful territorial sovereignty”. (The Japan Times, g).This purchase
incensed the Chinese population and government and since that time Chinese planes and ships
have been making increasingly number of trips out to the islands in order to exert their
dominance and to maintain their territorial integrity. Since then, there have been three more
crucial ‘hotspots’ or events that have been the source of ever increasing tensions between the two
nations.
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The first was in 2010 when “a Japanese Coast Guard arrested the crew of a Chinese
fishing trawler that rammed them in the waters near the disputed rocks. This arrest sparked
widespread angry protests and attacks on Japanese businesses in China as well as caused Beijing
to withhold exports of rare earth metals that were, and still are, vital to Japanese industries;
Tokyo capitulated by releasing the crew and captain” (CNN, d). The second was when, at the
end of November 2013, the Chinese government announced the creation of a new Air Defence
Identification Zone (hereby known as ADIZ). The zone can be seen in the figure below and
extends over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and into both Japanese and South Korean territory. The
Chinese government accompanied their new zone with a set of aircraft identification rules that
China stated must be followed by all aircraft entering the area, under penalty of intervention by
China’s military. “Aircraft are now expected to provide their flight path, clearly mark their
nationality and maintain two-way radio communication in order to respond in a timely and
accurate manner to identification inquiries from Chinese authorities” (The Japan Times, h). The
new zone however, remains largely a symbolic move as U.S. Secretary of State, Chuck Hagel
“felt compelled to assert that the implementation of the ADIZ will not in any way change how
the United States conducts military operations in the region” and “reaffirmed that Article V of
the U.S. Japan Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands” (CNN, f). In spite of
China’s establishment of the ADIZ however, Japanese and American planes continue to operate
as usual in the area and so far the Chinese government has not taken any military action to
enforce it or stop them from doing so.
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Figure 1.0
The third, and most problematic, was Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan’s visit to the
Yasukuni Shrine on December 26th, 2013, which has caused a complete halt in diplomatic talks
between the Japanese and Chinese governments. The Yasukuni Shrine is an old and infamous
Shintō shrine located in Tokyo, Japan that is, to many people, not just a spiritual place but a
symbol of Japan’s wartime history. Although the shrine was originally built in around 1869 “to
enshrine those killed in the Meiji Restoration” (DuBois, 2011, 185), it has become Japan’s main
shrine for housing the spirits of war dead and “has been an important symbol of Shintō
nationalism in Japan” (Reader, Andreasen, Stefánsson, 1995, 165). The main controversy
revolving around the shrine is that of the Class A war criminals that are enshrined there; such as
“Prime Minister Tōjō Hideki who led Japan to war, and Generals Matsui and Muto, who
commanded the Imperial Army in Nanking and the Philippines respectively” (Breen, 2007, 144).
The Tokyo War Crimes Trial where these men were convicted however, remains “highly
controversial” and “non-Japanese as well as Japanese scholars of different persuasions have
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argued its shortcomings for over fifty years” (Inken, Prohl and Nelson, 2012, 403). Yasukuni
Shrine in fact, takes the official stance that “the charges of ‘war crimes’ were false indictments
imposed unilaterally by the Allied victors of the Second World War” (Breen, 2007, 112).
Although some government officials have thought to transfer the spirits of the war
criminals to another site in order to placate the international community, the
Shrine in its capacity as a private institution has outright refused, stating that “in
theological terms, spirits once enshrined can never be dislodged” (Breen,
2007, 5-6).
Overall, there are two main underlying issues regarding the Prime Ministerial visits that
have caused such a stir in the International community and in China and South Korea in
particular. Firstly is that “when a Japanese Prime Minister goes in his official capacity to
Yasukuni shrine where Class A War Criminals are honoured as glorious spirits, it inevitably
invites the interpretation that the state of Japan is denying its war responsibility” (Breen, 2007,
112). Secondly is the fear that the visits are “reviving the unity of state and religion that gave rise
to ultra nationalism and militarism in Japan before and during World War II” (Earhart, 2004,
208). Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the shrine in December has been
the first official visit to the shrine since former Prime Minister Koizumi in
2001 and has “led to a stalemate in high-level relations between China and
Japan” (Breen, 2007, 23). In addition to this issue are the textbook
controversy, in which Abe plans to change the middle school and high school
textbooks to reflect more patriotic views of Japan’s history, and also the
Prime Minister’s plans to remove Article 9 from the Japanese constitution
which stipulates that Japan is not to have any military forces. The
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commonality in all of these issues is the fundamental problem that Japan has
shied away from dealing with their wartime past. Until such time as they
choose to fully recognize their actions and properly teach future generations
of Japanese children about those actions, these issues will continue to be a
source of extreme tension between Japan and its neighboring countries, as
well as the international community.
II. Theoretical Framework
There are four main theories utilized in this study. The first two are the interlinked
theories and concepts of agenda setting and framing. Agenda setting in the media relates to what
issues the public thinks about based on what we see in the news, whereas framing relates to how
we think about those issues. Both of these are important frameworks for this study as they set up
the basis of why media is an important tool in analyzing the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Media and Communication, agenda setting is
when “media agendas are set by ‘authoritative sources’ in government and industry upon which
news organizations rely. The primary concern is that those in power thus call attention to issues
that suit their agendas and distract attention from those that undermine them. It is usually argued
that this influences or determines the terms and scope of public debate—not by telling people
what to think but by telling them what to think about and influencing the salience for them of
particular issues.” (Daniel Chandler and Rod Munday, 2012). Additionally, the Oxford
Dictionary refers to framing as “The formats, categories, and criteria acting as selective filters,
formal contexts, and modes of informational organization in the reporting of current events.
News coverage by national media is generally framed with reference to categories such as
politics, the economy, foreign affairs, domestic affairs, and sport. Within such categories, some
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events are framed as more newsworthy than others, as reflected in the time or space devoted to
them, and in their ordering” (Daniel Chandler and Rod Munday, 2012). These frameworks
provide the connection between the public, the media, and decision makers that is necessary in
understanding the underlying contextual meaning of this study.
The third and fourth theories that play an important role in this study are soft and hard
power politics theory. Joseph Nye defines soft power as “A state may achieving the outcomes it
prefers in world politics because other states want to follow it or have agreed to a situation that
produces such effects” and is a type of diplomacy where “one country gets other countries to
want what it wants” usually through cultural or ideological means (Nye, 1990, 166). In contrast,
hard power is when a state coerces another state into doing something through the use of
economic sanctions or military action. In the case of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute, China
and Japan are currently using hard power politics to attempt to gain the upper hand over each
other. This was the case when China suspended its supply of rare earth metal to Japan, as
mentioned previously. If China and Japan were able to step away from this hard power rhetoric
and begin to move towards a more cultural connection, peace and stability in the region would be
much easier to maintain. Unfortunately, as will be seen later in the study, nationalistic sentiment
and poor public perceptions are the current status quo between the two nations, Japan and China.
Literature Review
In order to provide a basis for the cross border media analysis that is at the heart of this
study it is also important to have a basic understanding of the current academic discourse
surround the issue. Therefore, a brief literary review of nine journal articles, three by Japanese
authors, three by Chinese authors, and three from other sources, will be conducted. Academic
literature on this issue appears to focus almost exclusively on the legal framework and historical
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ownership of the dispute and in particular the issue of who has sovereignty over the islands. In
order to establish viewpoints from each of the Chinese, Japanese and international perspectives I
have reviewed three papers written by authors from each of these categories. Although nine
articles is only a small subset of the larger academia on the issue, the main purpose of this
research paper is to analyze media content and so preference has been given to that section for
size and depth. That being said however, I have endeavored to provide as much information on
the dispute as possible so that the reader may have a better understanding of where the media
analysis conducted in this paper is situated within the current academic literature on the dispute.
The three Chinese journal articles used in this review were Zhijian Liang’s, Study of the
Diaoyu Islands: A Continuation of Document-Based Research in the Style of Jean-Marc
F.Blanchard (2011); Zuxing Zhang’s, A Deconstruction of the Notion of Acquisitive
Prescription and Its Implications for the Diaoyu Islands Dispute (2012); and Zhongqi Pan’s
Sino-Japanese Dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands: The Pending Controversy from the
Chinese Perspective (2007). The following will be an examination of the Chinese perspective of
the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute. The first author, Zhijian Liang argues that “based on the
international law and the historical records from China, Japan, Europe, and the United States,
many researchers have argued that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China” (Liang, 2011, 6). He also
points out that “In 1885, Japan surveyed the Diaoyu Islands secretly with the intent of
constructing national markers but then indefinitely delayed these plans in the face of Chinese
objection published in the Chinese media. On 14 January 1895, the resolution concerning the
incorporation of the Diaoyu Islands was adopted internally by the Cabinet Meeting of Japan
shortly before the signing of the Shimonoseki Treaty, in which China ceded Taiwan and adjacent
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islands. This information was made public only in March 1952 in Japan Foreign Affairs
Documents, volume 23.6 (Liang, 2011, 3).
Liang’s argument is furthered in the work of Zuxing Zhang who states that “From
1885 on, surveys of the Senkaku Islands had been thoroughly made by the
Government of Japan through the agencies of Okinawa Prefecture and by
way of other methods. Through these surveys, it was confirmed that the
Senkaku Islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been
under the control of China. Based on this confirmation, the Government of
Japan made a Cabinet Decision on 14 January 1895 to erect a marker on the
Islands to formally incorporate the Senkaku Islands into the territory of
Japan” (Zhang, 2012, 13) Thus, China claims that Japan illegally procured the islands and
failed to return them during the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 after World War II, and as
China was not part of that treaty they failed to catch the omission. Zhang however, makes an
important argument that “For the claim of occupation by Japan, the year 1895 is a critical date
because if the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands belonged to China at that time, then the
claim of a title by occupation will be defeated. For the claim of ancient title by China, 1895 is
also critical because even if it can be established that the Diaoyu Islands belonged to China in the
period of, or prior to, the Ming dynasty, it might still be necessary for her to establish her
sovereignty in 1895, as abandonment before then is not impossible” (Zhang, 2012, 14). He
concludes that “In this dispute, even if the historical title can be established, there may still be a
possibility of a transfer of sovereignty after 189. During 1971–72, when the dispute arose, both
China and Japan declared their legal positions on the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands/the
Senkaku Islands. After this date, nothing could change the legal position of the disputed area.
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Thus the 1971–72 period is the second critical date in this dispute, in the sense that it is when the
dispute was crystallized” (Zhang, 2012, 14).
Zhongqi Pan takes these points further by pointing out that “Japan rests
the legitimacy of its claim to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands not only on their so-called being terra
nullius when it extended the claim in 1895, but also on China’s keeping silent to Japanese claim
until in the 1970’s. Japan argues that China did not object when Japan incorporated the islands
into Japanese territory in 1895 and posits that: The fact that China expressed no objection to the
status of the islands being under the administration of the United States under Article III of the
San Francisco Peace Treaty clearly indicates that China did not consider the Senkaku Islands as
part of Taiwan. It was not until the latter half of 1970, when the question of the development of
petroleum resources on the continental shelf of the East China Sea came to the surface, that the
Government of China and Taiwan authorities began to raise questions regarding the Senkaku
Islands” (Pan, 2007, 8). Finally, Pan argues that there are three main points regarding the
sovereignty of the islands that China and Japan cannot agree upon; they are “whether the islands
were terra nullius when Japan claimed sovereignty in 1895, whether Japan returned the islands to
China after the Japanese defeat in WWII, and how their maritime boundary in the East China Sea
should be demarcated according to international law” (Pan, 2007, 72). Pan discusses these three
issues from “historical and legal perspectives” (Pan, 2007, 73) but finally concludes that “there is
no ready solution to the longstanding stalemate, but the pending dispute could be shelved and
managed from escalating into a military conflict” (Pan, 2007, 1). An additional, but unrelated
point that Pan makes that will be useful for this study is that “in1968, a report of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East suggested possible large hydrocarbon
deposit in the waters off the shores of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Although the potential oil
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reserves have not yet come to fruition, this survey fueled the dispute between Japan and China
since its publication (Pan, 2007, 72).
The three Japanese journal articles used in this review are Kentaro Sakuwa’s A Not So
Dangerous Dyad: China’s Rise and Sino-Japanese Rivalry (2009); Hiroki Takeuchi’s Sino-
Japanese Relations: Power Interdependence and Domestic Politics (2014); and Shin
Kawashima’s The Origins of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Issue (2013). It is also important to
note that literature on this subject written by Japanese authors was fairly difficult to find, which
might be due to a large portion of the literature being written in Japanese with no English
translations. The following will review the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute from the Japanese
perspective. The first author, Kentaro Sakuwa, discusses the dispute in relation to more recent
issues, such as China’s recently established Exclusive Economic Zone and what must be done in
the future to avoid a conflict between the two nations. “The territorial dispute over the Senkakus
and the issues of the EEZ in the East China Sea are two of the most important ongoing disputes
between China and Japan. Although it is premature to conclude that those disputes will lead to
‘threat to use force’ or ‘use of force’, the possibility cannot be excluded. Territorial disputes may
exacerbate the Sino–Japanese diplomatic tension as theorists predict, and there are China’s rise
and Sino–Japanese rivalry some foreboding signs. Also, the issue of maritime border
delimitation and resource development in the East China Sea is a potential source of instability in
the Sino–Japanese relationship. The delimitation of the EEZ is still being negotiated, and both
China and Japan acknowledge economic, strategic, and political importance of the area. The
possibility that the dispute causes future instability cannot be thoroughly refuted” (Sakuwa,
2009, 23). Overall, he states that “In order to avoid exacerbating the overall Sino–Japanese
relationship in the possible case of a further shift in the power ratio favoring China, both Japan
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and China must refrain from escalating the dispute over the Senkakus by engaging in additional
military actions and make further diplomatic effort to implement the principles for cooperation in
the East China Sea. Also, both governments must avoid linking those issues with other issues,
such as rising nationalism in domestic politics” (Sakuwa, 2012, 28).
Takeuchi continues this more political side of the dispute, and focuses on how
nationalism has been an influencing factor in bilateral relations between China and Japan. “ I
argue that political leaders have emphasized nationalism in the context of the power struggle in
Chinese politics, and how nationalism has been used to strengthen the position against the
leadership seeking a conciliatory relationship with Japan” (Takeuchi, 2014, 28). He argues that
“it is not patriotism but nationalism that has a clear impact on public opinion formation on
foreign policy. Therefore, once the government has enmeshed citizens into a particular
nationalist ideology, it is hard for China’s authoritarian regime to change public opinion by
sending elite cues” (Takeuchi, 2014, 12). Finally, he discusses how “as the nature of China’s
leadership turned from non-nationalistic to nationalistic, the equilibrium of Sino-Japanese
relations shifted to one where China challenges the balance of power against Japan, rather than
appreciating the benefits from economic interdependence” (Takeuchi, 2014, 30). This idea that
nationalism has influenced bilateral relations and is therefore a fairly important topic in relation
to the islands dispute is a point that comes up fairly often in the media analysis of the issue as
well, which we will see later on.
Shin Kawashima’s article, similar to the Chinese articles previously discussed, focuses
more specifically on the legality and ownership of the islands and he states that “the Japanese
government claims possession of the Senkaku Islands based on the fact that they were specified
as part of the Nansei Islands during the process leading up to the San Francisco Peace
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Conference” (Shin Kawashima, 2013, 6). Kawashima also points out a statement made by the
ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 9, 1972 that contains the sentence “The Diaoyutai
Islets are a part of the territory of the Republic of China. The Republic of China’s claim to this
territory is indisputable in every respect—in terms of the islets’ geographical location and
geological structure, historical circumstance, their continuous use over a long period of time, and
the law. The Republic of China strongly opposes the handover by the USA to Japan of
administrative authority over these islets in combination with the return of administrative
authority over the Ryukyu Islands. Given its sacred duty to protect its territory, the Republic of
China will never, under any circumstances whatsoever, renounce its claim to the Diaoyutai
Islets” (Kawashima, 2013, 19) He continues by stating that “As described above, the
Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands issue had already become a diplomatic issue before the normalization of
diplomatic relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China in September 1972. In
light of the fact that the PRC had not actually been involved with the process out of which the
issue had arisen, it is understandable that there was no particular focus on the issue during the
negotiations preceding the normalization of diplomatic relations” (Kawashima, 2013, 20).
Overall he focuses on reviewing the diplomatic documents produced by both the Japanese and
Chinese governments in order to “reveal how this issue has evolved historically on both the
political and diplomatic fronts” (Kawashima, 2013, 2).
Lastly, the three international sources used in this review are Ming Gyo Koo’s The
Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute and Sino-Japanese political economic relations: cold politics and hot
economics? (2009); Krista Wiegand’s China's Strategy in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute:
Issue Linkage and Coercive Diplomacy (2009); and Linus Hagstrom’s ‘Power Shift’ in East
Asia? A Critical Reappraisal of Narratives on the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Incident in 2010
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(2012). Ming Gyo Koo’s article focuses on the political interdependence of the two nations and
how that has led to continued peaceful and diplomatic relations despite the many ‘flare ups’ that
have caused increased tensions over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. “The first flare-up of the
dispute started in late 1968 when the findings of a high probability of oil and gas deposits near
the disputed islands made everyone scramble for energy. Yet the island issue gradually took a
back seat by the end of 1971. The second round surfaced in a more serious manner in spring
1978, but both China and Japan successfully shelved the island issue towards the end of the same
year. Catalyzed by lighthouses built on the islands by an ultra-nationalist Japanese group, the
third and fourth rounds of dispute took place in September 1990 and in July 1996, respectively.
However, by the ends of the respective years both governments once again sought to defuse the
tension. Finally, the latest round in 2004 was catalyzed by a group of Chinese activists and
further exacerbated by intense resource competition in the East China Sea throughout 2005.
Although the latest flare-up effectively brought Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations to the lowest
ebb, both countries again chose to exercise restrained policies for fear of escalating the
sovereignty and resource issues out of control” (Koo, 2009, 6).This topic of bilateral relations
and economic interdependence conflicts with the Japanese perspective in Takeuchi’s article that
bilateral relations between Japan and China have been taking a down turn due to nationalist
sentiments in both countries. We will find out more about this topic and how the media perceives
it for the conflict overall in the results section of this paper.
The second author, Krista Weigard, focuses more on the historical side of the issue,
discussing how “Japan first legally acquired the disputed islands from China as surrounding
islands of Formosa (Taiwan) as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Sino-Japanese War of
1895. China made its formal claim for the islands and surrounding waters on December 30,
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1971, six months after the US and Japan had signed the reversion treaty. In the official claim, the
Foreign Ministry office claimed usurped ownership and encroachment of China’s sovereign
territory, which had been part of China’s territory since the fifteenth century. The Japanese
reacted to China’s claim by stating that “the Senkaku islands have been consistently a part of
Japan’s territory of Nansei Shoto” (Weigard, 2009, 4). In continuation, she states that “The status
quo remains just as it was in 1971 –Japan maintains occupation of the islands, claiming there is
no territorial dispute, while China claims the islands as part of its national sovereignty”
(Weigard, 2009, 4). Finally, she concludes that “until the dispute is finally settled, there will
always be some degree of risk of harming critical economic and diplomatic relations in a region
where these two states are the major movers and shakers” (Weigard, 2009, 23). Once again the
legality and ownership of the issue appears as the driving force behind the conflict in this article.
In addition however, Weigard also discusses the possibility of escalation, or future military
conflict; a topic that will also be appearing in the study later on.
The last author, Linus Hagstrom, focuses on one of the major flare ups in the dispute, the
collision between a Chinese fishing vessel and a Japanese patrol ship, how it affected the power
relationship between Japan and China and has influenced bilateral relations overall. “The
aim of this article is thus to revisit the incident in September 2010, when a Chinese fishing
trawler collided with two Japanese patrol ships in disputed waters” (Hagstrom, 2012, 3).” Since a
territorial dispute is essentially a dispute over the interpretation of the historical background and
the legal context of a piece of territory, data tends to get entwined with interpretations right from
the outset” (Hagstrom, 2012, 4). “China’s ‘rise’ is most commonly represented in this discourse
by the enormous increases in its gross domestic product (GDP) and defence spending since the
launch of the reform and opening-up agenda in 1978. Calculated in USD, Chinese GDP more
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than doubled in nominal terms between 1991 and 2000 (from $371.20 billion to $794 billion),
and in the following nine years until 2009 it increased by 557% calculated in USD (to $4.42
trillion). The Chinese defence budget in 2009 was moreover 485% larger than that of 2000 (an
increase from $14.5 billion to $70.3 billion), and the defence budget in 2000 was 237% larger
than that of 1991 (when it stood at $6.11 billion). ‘Japan’s decline’, in contrast, generally refers
to the economic malaise that has haunted Japan for well over two decades—a combination of
low economic growth, high public debt, deflation and serious problems related to demography
and governance. ‘Power shift’, finally, refers to the combined effect of these two developments,
most potently symbolised by China’s succeeding Japan in 2010 as the world’s second largest
economy. In other words, the relative distribution of regional power is believed to be shifting in
China’s favour, and thereby greatly affecting East Asian affairs. (Hagstrom, 2012, 26). This topic
of Chinese Assertiveness in the region is another issue that will appear in the study as it has been
a source of major concern for the media; as we will see later on.
Overall, the literature provides a thorough and well examined analysis of the legal
framework and historical issues of ownership over the islands, on both sides of the dispute. What
has only been examined in passing however is the question of the real value of the islands
beyond just the legal ownership and history of the territory. Several authors mention this issue
briefly in their articles but do not go into any detail regarding it and appear to be mentioning it
only to indicate that Japanese and Chinese interest in the islands increased after it was suggested
that the islands contained natural resources; although to this day it still has not been confirmed
whether or not there are any valuable resources beneath the islands. Therefore, the purpose of my
study is to work towards closing this gap in the literature by examining what deeper causes lie
19
behind the dispute and how they have been perceived and deciphered by the media for the
public.
Methodology
The intent of the research conducted for this paper was to produce a structured content
and bias analysis of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute from the perspectives of eight different
newspapers, using nine articles from each paper for a total of seventy-two articles. The articles
date from the beginning of April, 2012 to the end of March, 2014 so as to cover a full two year
period of the dispute. In order to collect even samples, two Japanese newspapers, two Chinese
newspapers, two American newspapers, and two British newspapers were used. They are as
follows: The Japan Times, Mainichi Shimbun, The Global Times, The People’s Daily, The New
York Times, CNN, The Guardian and The Economist. The study was conducted based on seven
main issues or topics that appeared repeatedly in the initial research. The topics are as follows:
Nationalism/Public Sentiment, Bilateral Relations, Historical Tensions, Natural Resources,
Chinese Assertiveness, Future Military Conflict, and Sovereignty.
The three main objectives of the study were to identify first, the objectivity of the
newspapers themselves; second, the biases present in the topics both on a comprehensive level
and based on each individual newspaper; and third, the relevancy of the topics, also on a
comprehensive as well as individual basis. The coding used for determining the objectivity and
or biases present is in the form of the following categories: N for Neutral, C+ for pro-China, C-
for anti-China, J+ for pro-Japan, and J- for anti-Japan. These categories are qualitative and were
determined by careful examination of the tone of the paper each time one of the keywords of the
20
seven topics was used. The procedure used to achieve the three main objectives is as follows.
The first point, overall objectivity, was determined by identifying how many times each
newspaper used one of the previously mentioned categories when mentioning a topic throughout
all of the nine articles combined and comparing those results to the other newspapers. The
second point, each newspaper’s objectivity towards individual topics, was analyzed by
examining the number of times a topic was mentioned and with which of the aforementioned
categories. This was also evaluated on both a comprehensive scale, meaning all seventy-two
articles; and case by case by using the nine articles for each newspaper. Finally, the perceived
relevancy of each of the seven topics was determined across the eight newspapers, as well as for
each individual newspaper, based on which particular set of keywords were predominantly used.
For additional information it has been noted in the reference section whether or not the articles
are editorials (marked by an ED) as well as if they contain a graph or diagram depicting disputed
territory (marked by a *). These two factors are important to note as they indicate a specific
opinion on the issues at hand as well as the tendency that graphs have to steer the reader in the
direction the author is thinking rather than allowing them to reach a conclusion independently.
Finally, the titles of each of the seventy articles have been included in the reference section at the
end of this paper so as to provide the readers with a more accurate knowledge of what material
specifically was analyzed in this study.
While there are certain facts or details from the articles that are left open to the
interpretation of the reader, there is of course always the possibility of personal bias skewing the
results of the analysis. That being said however, I have endeavoured to be as objective as
possible in my examination and the subsequent outcome of the study in order to reduce this
possibility and present fair and unbiased results. There were two main limitations to the study;
21
the first was the difference in the lengths of the articles, which caused disparities in the number
of times keyword were used and resulted in differences in the overall numbers of each
newspaper. The second was the timeline for the articles used in the study, which might have
caused discrepancies in the number of times a topic was mentioned throughout all nine articles in
each individual newspaper. This was because some of the newspapers analyzed either did not
have older articles from 2012 or did not have up to date information on the dispute and as such
did not have articles for 2014.
To mitigate the first issue, I have included the total number of mentions at the bottom
corner of each of the graphs so that the reader will be able to see the disparities and adjust their
own personal conclusions accordingly. While it is not possible to mitigate the second issue, it is
possible to fully disclose the information. As such, the number of articles analyzed for each of
the three years is as follows: 24 articles for April to December of 2012, 33 articles for the full
year of 2013 and 14 articles for the first three months of 2014. The number of articles is
relatively even to how many months of each year were analyzed; meaning that the overall results
will be based on a fair amount of information from each of the years. However there is a
possibility that the individual newspapers will have slightly skewed results due to certain years
being missed in the case by case examinations. In spite of these limitations however, the study
overall has been undertaken with every consideration to scientific method and as such can be
reproduced by following this methodology, and quite possibly improved in future research by
expanding and filling in the gaps in the timeline.
Results and Observations
22
This segment of the paper is dedicated to summarizing the data collected in the study on
both a comprehensive and individual basis. As previously mentioned, in order to portray the
significance of these results in relation to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute, three main points
will be analyzed. First, each newspaper’s overall objectivity; second, whether there are any
biases present in each of the individual topics, both comprehensively and case by case; and
finally, how relevant the newspapers portray each topic to be, also on a comprehensive and case
by case basis. Each of these points will be represented by visual summaries in the form of graphs
and charts.
The first section will detail the comprehensive results based on all seventy-two articles
from each of the eight newspapers and each section after that will detail the individual results of
the newspapers in the following order: The Japan Times, Mainichi Shimbun, The Global Times,
The People’s Daily, The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian and The Economist.
I. Comprehensive Results
23
The Ja
pan T
imes
(Ja...
Mainich
i (Jap
an)
The Glob
al Tim
es (C
...
The Peo
ple's D
aily (
...
The New
York Tim
es...
CNN (USA
)
The Gua
rdian
(UK)
The Eco
nomist
(UK)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100Comprehensive Objectivity/Bias by Newspaper
Neutral
Pro-China
Anti-China
Pro-Japan
Anti-Japan
Newspapers
Freq
uenc
y of
Men
tion
On a comprehensive scale, most of the newspapers presented their material objectively,
meaning with a strongly neutral lens, however there were several exceptions Firstly, the two
Chinese newspapers, The Global Times and the People’s Daily, had lower numbers in their
neutral categories than in their anti-Japan categories. Secondly, the anti-China categories of The
Japan Times, CNN and The Economist were all significantly higher than their anti-Japan
category. If these newspapers were completely objective they would have presented more equal
numbers in their anti-China and anti-Japan categories, which happens in the case of the New
York Times and The Guardian. Another important note related to neutrality is that the Chinese
newspapers displayed significantly high numbers in their pro-China categories, while every other
paper except for The Japan Times had almost none. Lastly, the two Japanese papers, The Japan
Times and the Mainichi Shimbun, as well as The Economist displayed the highest numbers in the
24
pro-Japan category, while The New York Times and CNN had half those numbers and the
Chinese papers and the Guardian had none. Overall, the two British papers, The Guardian and
The Economist, displayed the highest levels of neutrality with an 87 and an 82 respectively. The
two American papers, The New York Times and CNN, followed with slightly lower levels of 72
and 76 respectively. The Japanese papers were close behind with a 58 for the Japan Times and a
68 for the Mainichi Shimbun. Lastly, the lowest levels of neutrality were those of the two
Chinese papers, with a 37 for The Global Times and a 45 for The People’s Daily.
Nation
alism
/ Pub
lic Sen
timen
t
Bilater
al Rela
tions
Histori
cal Ten
sions
Natural
Reso
urces
Chinese
Asse
rtive-
ness
Future
Milit
ary C
onflic
t
Sovere
ignty
020406080
100120140160
Comprehensive Objectivity/Bias by Topic
NeutralPro-ChinaAnti-ChinaPro-JapanAnti-Japan
Topics
Freq
uenc
y of
Men
tion
25
This section will detail the results of the biases present in the chosen topics on a
comprehensive basis, meaning that of all eight newspapers (individual newspaper results will be
discussed in subsequent sections). The first topic, Nationalism/Public Sentiment, presented a
strong anti-Japan bias, followed closely by an anti-China bias; neutrality was low. The second
topic, Bilateral Relations, was strongly neutral with a slight anti-Japan bias. The third topic,
Historical Tensions, presented close numbers in neutrality and an anti-Japan bias. The fourth
topic, Natural Resources, was almost entirely neutral. The fifth topic, Chinese Assertiveness was
strongly anti-China in its bias, however presented only slightly lower neutral results. The sixth
topic, Future Military Conflict, was mainly neutral with a slight anti-China bias, and the last
topic, Sovereignty was overwhelmingly neutral with no overall biases present. The topic with the
overall highest pro-China numbers was Chinese Assertiveness, however it is important to note
that these numbers were almost entirely from the two Chinese papers, The Global Times and The
People’s Daily. In direct contrast to these findings, the highest anti-China numbers also came
from the Chinese Assertiveness topic, however these numbers were relatively equal across the
26
Comprehensive Objectivity/Bias by TopicTopics N C+ C- J+ J- Total Overall
RankingNationalism/Public Sentiment 28 4 60 1 69 162 4th Bilateral Relations 88 8 13 5 21 135 5th
Historical Tensions 97 0 2 3 115 217 3rd
Natural Resources 39 5 8 0 4 56 7th
Chinese Assertiveness 76 25 100 5 28 234 2nd
Future Military Conflict 61 1 26 3 12 103 6th
Sovereignty 136 15 34 21 34 240 1st
Total 525 58 243 38 283 [1147]
six non-Chinese newspapers. The highest pro-Japan numbers were found in the Sovereignty
topic and came mainly from the two Japanese newspapers, The Japan Times and the Mainichi
Shimbun. The topic that held the highest anti-Japan numbers was Historical Tensions, with the
highest numbers coming from the Mainichi Shimbun, The New York Times and the two Chinese
papers.
As stated in the methodology, the perceived relevancy of the topics will be determined
based on the number of times that topic was mentioned. On a comprehensive level, meaning
across the 72 articles, the topic with the highest numbers was Sovereignty with a 240, followed
closely by Chinese Assertiveness with a 234 and Historical Tensions with a 217. In fourth, after
dropping down by 50, was Nationalism/Public Sentiment with a 162, followed by Bilateral
Relations/Trade with a 135. In sixth, dropping by 47 was Future Military Conflict with a 103,
and finally with the lowest numbers overall was Natural Resources with a 56. Individually, four
newspapers, including the two Chinese newspapers and the two American newspapers, displayed
the highest perceived relevancy in the Chinese Assertiveness topic. It is important to note
however, that The New York Times had only slightly less numbers in the Historical Tensions
topic than that of Chinese Assertiveness, so these two topics were fairly close in perceived
relevancy. The Japanese paper, The Japan Times, and the British paper, The Guardian, displayed
the highest perceived relevancy in the Sovereignty topic. The other Japanese paper, Mainichi
Shimbun, perceived the Historical Tensions topic to be the most relevant. Finally, the British
paper, The Economist, had the highest perceived relevancy in the Nationalism/Public Sentiment
followed relatively closely in number by the Future Military Conflict topic. (Chart on next page).
27
Number of Mentions by Topic and Newspaper
Main IssuesThe
Japan Times
Mainichi
Shimbun
TheGlobal Times
The People’s Daily
New York Times
CNN The
GuardianThe
Economist
Total#
Overall
Ranking
Nationalism/Public Sentiment
12 6 15 10 33 22 26 38 162 4th
Bilateral Relations 29 12 12 18 15 22 10 17 135 5th
Historical Tensions
16 48 28 26 39 17 15 28 217 3rd
Natural Resources 12 2 6 5 5 5 10 11 56 7th
Chinese Assertiveness 19 9 32 34 45 39 28 28 234 2nd
Future Military Conflict
5 9 10 5 18 18 8 30 103 6th
28
Sovereignty 45 42 26 25 18 23 43 18 240 1st
Total # 138 128 129 123 173 146 140 170 [1147]
29
The following are the results for each of the eight individual newspapers.
II. The Japan Times (Japan)
Top
ics
The Japan Times (Japan) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 0 0 6 0 6 12Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 17 5 2 0 5 29
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 14 0 0 0 2 16
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 5 3 2 0 2 12
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 6 0 12 1 0 19
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 2 0 3 0 0 5
Sovereignty/Territory 14 0 17 9 5 45
Total 58 8 42 10 20 [138]
The Japan Times is currently Japan’s only independent English Language Newspaper and
is also the oldest, being founded in 1897 (The Japan Times Website, 2014). In this newspaper,
the first topic, Nationalism/Public Sentiment, held equal numbers in the anti-China and anti-
Japan bias. The second, third and fourth topics, Bilateral Relations, Historical Tensions and
Natural Resources were strongly neutral, with no particular bias present. The fifth topic, Chinese
Assertiveness presented a strong anti-China bias. The sixth topic, Future Military Conflict, was
mainly neutral with a slight anti-China bias. The last topic, Sovereignty, was split almost evenly
between neutrality and an anti-China bias. Overall, The Japan Times displayed its highest
numbers in the neutral category with a 58. This was followed by a 42 in the anti-China category,
a 20 in the anti-Japan category, a 10 in the pro-Japan category and an 8 in the pro-China
category. The strongest neutral topics for this paper were Bilateral Relations, Historical
Tensions, and Sovereignty. The strongest pro-China topic was also Bilateral Relations. The
strongest anti-China topic was Sovereignty, followed by Chinese Assertiveness. The strongest
30
pro-Japan topic was also Sovereignty and finally, the anti-Japan category was mainly split
between Nationalism/Public Sentiment, Bilateral Relations and Sovereignty.
III. Mainichi Shimbun (Japan)
Top
ics
Mainichi Shimbun (Japan) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 0 0 1 0 5 6Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 8 0 2 1 1 12
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 24 0 1 2 21 48
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 1 0 1 0 0 2
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 1 0 8 0 0 9
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 8 1 0 0 0 9
Sovereignty/Territory 26 0 7 8 1 42
Total 68 1 20 11 28 [128]
Mainichi Shimbun is one of Japan’s top three daily newspapers and “with its thorough
coverage and generally progressive editorial outlook, Mainichi has appealed to a largely middle-
class readership Japan” (Mainichi Website, 2014). In this newspaper, the first topic,
Nationalism/Public Sentiment, held a mainly anti-Japan bias. The second, fourth and sixth topics,
Bilateral Relations, Natural Resources and Future Military Conflict were strongly neutral, with
no particular bias present. The third topic, Historical Tensions, was split almost evenly between
neutrality and an anti-Japan bias. The fifth topic, Chinese Assertiveness, presented a strong anti-
China bias, and the last topic, Sovereignty, was mainly neutral with slight anti-China and pro-
Japan biases. Similar to The Japan Times, Mainichi Shimbun’s category with the highest
numbers was also neutral, with a 68. However unlike the other paper, it was followed by a 28
in the anti-Japan category and then with a drop of 8, by a 20 in the anti-China category. It
31
showed only an 11 in the pro-Japan category and even less in the pro-China category with a
1. The bulk of the neutral category was split between the Historical Tensions and Sovereignty
topics. However it is important to note that the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions
topic had almost equal numbers to that of the neutral category.
IV. The Global Times (China)
The Global Times (China) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 3 2 0 0 10 15Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 5 2 1 0 4 12
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 7 0 0 0 21 28
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 4 2 0 0 0 6
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 7 14 2 0 9 32
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 4 0 0 0 6 10
Sovereignty/Territory 7 5 0 0 14 26
Total 37 25 3 0 64 [129]
Founded in April 2009, The Global Times is “one of the most dynamic players among
Chinese media, and has rapidly become the major English newspaper in the nation” (The Global
Times Website, 2014). In this newspaper, the first, third and last topics, Nationalism/Public
Sentiment, Historical Tensions and Sovereignty held a strongly anti-Japan bias. The second and
sixth topics, Bilateral Relations and Future Military Conflict, were split almost evenly between
neutrality and an anti-Japan bias. The fourth topic, Natural Resources was mainly neutral, with
no particular bias present; and the fifth topic, Chinese Assertiveness presented a strong pro-
China bias. This paper’s highest numbers were in the anti-Japan category with a 64. This was
followed by a 37 in the neutral category, a 25 in the pro-China category and a 3 in the anti-China
32
category. There were no numbers in the pro-Japan category. The highest individual numbers
were found in the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions topic followed by the
Sovereignty topic. The neutral category was relatively even through each of the seven topics.
The anti-China category held a 1 in the Bilateral Relations Topic and a 2 in the Chinese
Assertiveness topic.
V. The People’s Daily (China)
Top
ics
The People’s Daily (China) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 0 2 0 0 8 10Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 14 0 0 0 4 18
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 8 0 0 0 18 26
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 3 0 0 0 2 5
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 11 12 0 0 11 34
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 1 0 0 0 4 5
Sovereignty/Territory 8 9 0 0 8 25
Total 45 23 0 0 55 [123]
The People’s Daily was founded in the People’s Republic of China in 1997 and is a daily
newspaper that reflects the views and “advocates the beliefs” of the Communist Party of China
(The People’s Daily Website, 2014). In this newspaper, the first, third and sixth topics,
Nationalism/Public Sentiment, Historical Tensions and Future Military Conflict held a strongly
anti-Japan bias. The second topic, Bilateral Relations, was strongly pro-China. The fourth topic,
Natural Resources was split almost evenly between neutrality and an anti-Japan bias. The fifth
and seventh topics, Chinese Assertiveness and Sovereignty were split almost evenly between
neutrality, a pro-China bias and an anti-Japan bias. Overall, the People’s Daily showed its
33
highest numbers in the anti-Japan category with a 55, however closely following was the neutral
category with a 45. Following that was a 23 in the pro-China category and nothing in either the
anti-China or pro-Japan categories. As was the case in The Global Times, this paper’s highest
individual number was in the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions topic. Following that
however was the neutral category of the Bilateral Relations topic, and then equally high numbers
in the neutral, pro-China and anti-Japan categories of the Chinese Assertiveness topic.
VI. The New York Times (USA)
Top
ics
The New York Times (USA) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 4 0 14 0 15 33Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 12 0 1 1 1 15
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 15 0 0 1 23 39
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 3 0 2 0 0 5
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 16 1 23 0 5 45
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 14 0 2 1 1 18
Sovereignty/Territory 8 1 3 1 5 18
Total 72 2 45 4 50 [173]
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851, although the
online edition has only been active since 1995 (The New York Times Website, 2014). In this
newspaper, the first topic, Nationalism/Public Sentiment, held equal numbers in the anti-China
and anti-Japan bias. The second, sixth and last topics, Bilateral Relations, Future Military
Conflict and Sovereignty were strongly neutral, with no particular bias present. The third topic,
Historical Tensions, held a strongly anti-Japan bias, but had relatively high neutrality as well.
The fourth topic, Natural Resources was split evenly between neutrality and an anti-China bias.
34
The fifth topic, Chinese Assertiveness, presented a strong anti-China bias, however also had
relatively high neutrality. Overall, The New York Times presented its highest numbers in the
neutral category with a 72, followed by almost equal numbers in the anti-China category, with a
45, and the anti-Japan category, with a 50. This was followed by only a 2 in the pro-China
category and a 4 in the pro-Japan category. In this paper there was a tie for the highest individual
number between the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions topic, and the anti-China
category of the Chinese Assertiveness topic. Following that were equally high numbers in the
neutral categories almost all of the topics; the exception to this being the equally high numbers in
the anti-Japan and anti-China categories of the Nationalism/Public Sentiment topic.
VII. CNN (USA)
Top
ics
CNN (USA) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 7 0 11 0 4 22Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 13 0 5 1 3 22
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 7 0 0 0 10 17
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 4 0 1 0 0 5
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 16 0 21 1 1 39
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 10 0 6 1 1 18
Sovereignty/Territory 19 0 3 1 0 23
Total 76 0 47 4 19 [146]
CNN, or Cable News Network, is an American news network that started broadcasting in
1980 and has expanded internationally, with headquarters all over the world (CNN Website,
2014). In this newspaper, the first and fifth topics, Nationalism/Public Sentiment and Chinese
Assertiveness, held a strongly anti-China bias with relatively high neutrality as well. The second,
fourth and last topics, Bilateral Relations, Natural Resources, and Sovereignty/Territory were
35
strongly neutral, with no particular bias present. The third topic, Historical Tensions, held an
anti-Japan bias with relatively high neutrality as well. The sixth topic, Future Military Conflict,
was mainly neutral with a slight anti-China bias. As was the case in the New York Times, this
paper presents its highest overall numbers in the neutral category with a 76. Following that is a
47 in the anti-China category, a 19 in the anti-Japan category and a 4 in the pro-Japan category,
although nothing in the pro-China Category. The highest individual number was in the anti-
China category of the Chinese Assertiveness topic. Although following this, the second and third
highest were in the neutral category of the Sovereignty and Chinese Assertiveness topics.
Following this were numbers in the neutral category of the Bilateral Relations and Future
Military topics, as well as in the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions topic, and the
anti-China category of the Nationalism/Public Sentiment topic.
VIII. The Guardian (UK)
Top
ics
The Guardian (UK) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 10 0 8 0 8 26Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 10 0 0 0 0 10
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 5 0 0 0 10 15
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 8 0 2 0 0 10
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 8 0 18 0 2 28
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 6 0 2 0 0 8
Sovereignty/Territory 40 0 2 0 1 43
Total 87 0 32 0 21 [140]
The Guardian is a British newspaper, originally founded in 1821, with the online version
becoming available in 1995, which also has a strong online presence in America (The Guardian
Website, 2014). In this newspaper, the first topic, Nationalism/Public Sentiment, was mainly
36
neutral but also had equal anti-China and anti-Japan biases. The second, fourth, sixth and last
topics, Bilateral Relations, Natural Resources, Future Military Conflict and Sovereignty were
almost entirely neutral. The third topic, Historical Tensions, had an anti-Japan bias, and the fifth
topic, Chinese Assertiveness, presented a strong anti-China bias. The Guardian’s highest overall
number is in the neutral category, with an 82, and is the highest of all eight newspapers. It
follows with only a 32 in the anti-China category and a 21 in the anti-Japan category. There are
zero numbers in the pro-China and pro-Japan categories. Its highest individual number was in the
neutral category of the Sovereignty dispute, and it exceeded the second closest number by two
times, the second being in the anti-China category of the Chinese Assertiveness topic. Following
that were equally high numbers in the neutral categories of four of the topics; Nationalism/Public
Sentiment, Bilateral Relations, Natural Resources and Chinese Assertiveness. Equally high was
the anti-Japan category of the Historical Tensions topic.
IX. The Economist (UK)
Top
ics
The Economist (UK) Objectivity/Bias Total
Keywords N C+ C- J+ J-
Nationalism/Public Sentiment/Right-Wing 4 0 20 1 13 38Bilateral/ Diplomatic/Trade Relations 9 1 2 2 3 17
History/1972 Normalization/WWII/Yasukuni 17 0 1 0 10 28
Natural Resources (Oil/Gas/Fishing/Minerals) 11 0 0 0 0 11
Chinese Assertiveness: Air/Coast Guard Patrols/ADIZ 11 0 14 3 0 28
Future Military Conflict/War/Escalation 16 0 13 1 0 30
Sovereignty/Territory 14 0 2 2 0 18
Total 82 1 52 9 26 [170]
The Economist is a “weekly magazine of news and opinion published in London and
generally regarded as one of the world’s preeminent journals of its kind” and was founded in
37
1843 (The Economist Website, 2014). In this newspaper, the first topic, Nationalism/Public
Sentiment, presented a slightly anti-China bias. The second, fourth and last topics, Bilateral
Relations, Natural Resources and Sovereignty were strongly neutral, with no particular bias
present. The third topic, Historical Tensions, was relatively neutral, with a slight anti-Japan bias.
The fifth topic, Chinese Assertiveness presented a strong anti-China bias with relatively high
neutrality as well. In contrast, the sixth topic was strongly neutral but also held a slight anti-
China bias. The Economist’s highest number, as in the two American papers and The Guardian,
was in the neutral category, with an 82. Following that was a 52 in the anti-China category, a 26
in the anti-Japan category, a 9 in the pro-Japan category and a 1 in the pro-China category. The
highest individual number was in the anti-China category of the Nationalism/Public Sentiment
topic. Following that were equally high numbers in the neutral categories of the Historical
Tensions and Future Military Conflict topics. After that were also equally high numbers in the
anti-China category of the Chinese Assertiveness and Future Military Conflict topics.
Discussion and Analysis
This section of the paper will be discussing the contextual meaning behind the results and
observations provided by the data and how they might provide answers to the two main
questions this paper seeks to answer. First, it is important to mention that the usefulness of this
exercise has gone beyond the initial scope of what I had expected to discover, especially relating
to the role that newspapers play in interpreting complex world events for the general public but
also with regards to decision makers. Media functions not only as a reflection of decision
making, as seen in this study, but also informs decision makers; an example being press clipping
services, where organizations and governments monitor the media by receiving daily clippings
from various newspapers. The purpose of this study was to conduct a cross border media analysis
38
of eight newspapers from four different countries in order to obtain information on what issues
regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands were perceived to be the most relevant as well as what
biases appeared for each of those issues. In particular the views analyzed were from the Chinese
perspective, the Japanese perspective, as well as the mainstream opinion of western media,
represented by the American and British perspectives. This author’s hypothesis was that the
analysis would reveal two main results. First, that certain topics and or biases would transcend
national boundaries and therefore would be consistent across each newspaper analyzed.
Secondly, that each newspaper, due to its national environment, would indicate a stronger
interest in certain topics rather than others, as well as certain biases in each of those topics.
In answer to the first part of the original hypothesis, after examining the results of the
study, there were in fact three topics that received the highest overall results; Historical Tensions,
Chinese Assertiveness, and Sovereignty. These topics are therefore the issues that have the
highest relevancy relating to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute as perceived by the newspapers
analyzed in the study. Additionally, the Historical Tensions topic is dominated across the board
by strong anti-Japan biases and the Chinese Assertiveness topic by strong anti-China biases. The
anti-Japan bias in the Historical Relations topic is of course related to Japanese militarism during
the Second World War and it is not only the country that was arguably the most affected by
these actions, China, where we find this bias. In addition to the Chinese newspapers, the
American and British newspapers as well as the Japanese newspapers themselves hold an anti-
Japan bias. With regards to Chinese Assertiveness, all of the papers, except for the two Chinese
papers, appear to observe the patrols that China has been repeatedly sending to the islands as an
aggressive act that could possibly lead to a confrontation between Chinese and Japanese forces.
As such, they are viewed negatively by not only the Japanese newspapers, but the American and
39
British newspapers as well. The final topic, Sovereignty, is referred to consistently in almost all
of the seventy-two articles used in the study, and most often from a neutral standpoint; the only
exceptions being a slight pro-China bias in the Chinese newspapers and a slight anti-China bias
in the Japanese newspapers. As a topic it appears to be most strongly related to
I. Japan
With regard to the second part of the hypothesis, there were in fact certain topics that
were perceived as more relevant than others by each of the countries, as well as certain biases
attached to those topics. The Japanese newspapers, The Japan Times and Mainichi Shimbun,
showed a high interest in the topic of Historical Tensions, with a strongly neutral tone.
Hypothetically, this could indicate that as a nation, Japan is interested in opening a discussion
with regards to history and their past actions. They also showed a high interest in the topic of
Chinese Assertiveness, with a strongly anti-China tone. This clearly indicates that Japan
perceives the continued Chinese advances in the area around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands
negatively, and when we look at Japan’s recent interest in increasing their national defence it
also indicates that they are threatened by China’s actions.
II. China
The Chinese newspapers, The Global Times and The People’s Daily, showed a high
interest in the topic of Nationalism/Public Sentiment; however with a strong anti-Japan bias. This
most likely stems from what they perceive as the right-wing or nationalist agenda of Japan’s
most recent Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. In particular, his visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, his
announcement that the Senkaku islands will be declared as Japan’s territory in middle school and
high school text books, and his interest in doing away with the article in the Japanese
constitution that prevents Japan from having an established military. The second topic the
40
Chinese newspapers references quite often was Historical Tensions, also with a strong anti-Japan
bias. As mentioned previously, this is due to Japanese militarism during the Second World War,
but also because of how China perceives Japan’s current attitude towards their actions during the
war. The Chinese newspapers point out the fact that Japanese nationalism proves that Japan is
not apologetic over its actions and that this is a direct insult to those who suffered at their hands
during the war. This, more than the actions themselves appears to be what incenses China the
most about the two countries shared history. The third and final topic that appears quite often is
Chinese Assertiveness, and is almost equal in a pro-China bias and an anti-Japan bias. The pro-
China bias most likely indicates defensiveness towards negative Japanese and western attitudes
towards their actions, and the anti-Japan bias appears due to the Chinese assertion that the
Senkaku/Diaoyu islands are Chinese territory and therefore they can send as many patrols as they
deem necessary. It is also important to note that The People’s Daily, in its roles as a
representative of the Communist Party of China, is influenced directly by the government and
thus strongly reflects the official position of the country.
III. America
The American newspapers, The New York Times and CNN, differed slightly in the fact
that CNN portrayed more of a pro-Japan, anti-China bias than the New York Times. Overall
however, both papers showed high interest in the Chinese Assertiveness topic. Although they try
to remain neutral, both papers shows a slight anti-China bias which likely stems from the fact
that America interest in the region revolves around maintaining peace between the two nations so
as to encourage economic relations, and the patrols that China repeatedly sends into the area
threaten that peace. Additionally, both newspapers discuss Chinese Nationalism, with regard to
the anti-Japan protests and riots that have occurred due to flare-ups in the conflict, and as such,
41
they also reflect a slight anti-China bias. Lastly, as we saw previously, the Historical Tensions
topic holds a slight anti-Japan bias, due to Japanese militarism during World War II.
IV. Britain
Lastly, the British newspapers, The Guardian and The Economist, also showed high
interest in the topic of Chinese Assertiveness, with a significant anti-China bias that was once
again due to China’s repeated patrols near the islands. These two papers were significantly
neutral in almost all of the topics, although The Economist did display a high anti-China bias
than the Guardian. The only other topic that they both mentioned more than any of the other
papers did was that of Natural Resources. These two papers focused strongly on the oil, gas and
mineral deposits that have been suggested to exist around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, although
there is no concrete proof that there are deposits. Overall, Britain has less national interest in the
islands, mainly because they are not tied to either of the countries as America is tied to Japan,
and as such these two newspapers do not appear to have the same biases of the other six and
remain highly objective overall.
V. Further Points
In addition to these main points, there were several other surprising results of the study
that were significant for the conflict overall. The first is that of the Natural Resources topic,
which surprisingly had the lowest number of mentions of all of the seven topics, and therefore
the lowest perceived relevancy of all the topics. It was also almost entirely neutral, indicating
that there were no strong biases and therefore emotional ties, attached to the issue. The natural
resources of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands represent the assets and overall economic value of the
land. This topic holding the lowest perceived relevancy overall by all eight newspapers indicates
42
that none of the four countries examined in the study consider natural resources to be a main area
of concern in the dispute.
The second point of interest was with regard to the topic of Future Military Conflict
between Japan and China. The eight newspapers examined placed this topic as second to last for
overall numbers of mentions, and therefore its perceived relevancy was only above that of
Natural Resources. In addition, the bulk of those numbers came from the two American
newspapers, The New York Times and CNN, and the British newspaper, The Economist. For the
rest of the newspapers it was one of the lowest scoring in perceived relevancy overall. This
indicates that the American newspapers and The Economist have a tendency to overstate the
possibility of escalation of the conflict compared to the other five newspapers. This could be
caused by the tendency of American media to dramatize news in order to obtain higher ratings.
The last point of interest was the topic of Bilateral Relations between Japan and China which
ranked fifth for overall relevancy by the eight newspapers examined and was strongly neutral,
with only a slight anti-Japan bias. This indicates that the economic relationship between the two
is not an important factor or major point of concern for the dispute overall. This in itself is
indicative of the fact that although the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute has been a major source
of contention between the two nations, it has not yet become an important enough issue to affect
bilateral relations and trade between them.
43
Conclusions
As we have seen from the findings of this study, the true value of the islands does not
appear to be that of their natural resources or assets, of which there are little, or in the actual
ownership based on historical fact, as neither side can agree on which country legally owns the
islands. In fact, the islands themselves have no apparent value beyond that which has been
attributed to them by the two nations involved in the dispute. The research conducted in this
study can only provide the perspective of the newspapers examined; however as the study has
found, the media in many cases can be influenced by or even influence decision makers and
government officials. Therefore, the media perspective is one I believe holds great value in
determining the underlying causes of this territorial dispute between China and Japan. Overall,
the newspapers analyzed in this study indicated that Sovereignty held the highest perceived
relevance of the seven topics examined, and this is the topic that is also most thoroughly
examined and analyzed in the academic literature in the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands issue. However,
what the newspapers also found to be highly relevant to the dispute that the academic literature
does not discuss in any great detail, are the topics of Historical Tensions between the two nations
and Chinese Assertiveness in the region. It is based on this data that I can conclude that although
the legality and historical ownership of the islands is an important subject related to the conflict,
we cannot ignore the fact that the history of these two great nations and the current strength of
China in relation to its neighboring countries are factors that have greatly influenced the course
this dispute has taken.
In addition, this study has discovered that the newspapers, in their reporting on these
issues, have certain biases that influence or are influenced by their national environments. The
Chinese papers exhibit pro-China biases but also tend to try to maintain a neutral position where
44
possible, so as not to exacerbate pre-existing tensions with Japan and aggravate already low
public opinions towards their neighboring country. The Japanese papers are generally diplomatic
and try to be as neutral as possible; however they hold a surprising anti-Japan bias when it comes
to their own country’s history. The American papers, possibly influenced by their country’s role
as Japan’s military protectors, show a slight pro-Japan bias in everything but history and an anti-
China bias in Chinese Assertiveness. Lastly, the British papers are strongly neutral in almost
every topic or hold equal anti-Japan and anti-China biases; this is likely influenced by the fact
that their country does not have any strong national interest in the region and can therefore
approach the topic from more of a bystander’s perspective. These biases are important to
understand because the media are the experts that the general public look to in order to decipher
and give meaning to complex global issues. When they present certain facts with particular
biases it is likely the case that the public and decision makers that they are providing this
information to also come to holds these biases, knowingly or not. Finally, by analyzing both the
relevancy of certain topics and how these different media sources are presenting the conflict we
are given a unique opportunity to view the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute through the eyes of
four very different countries. In the end, this media analysis has brought forward some important
observations about the gaps in the previous discourse on the conflict that, in the future, might
bear further investigation. For now however, the only thing that this author can be certain of is
that no one can truly predict the outcome of any territorial dispute and in the end, all we as
academics can do is to try our best to understand and interpret the actions and interactions of the
great nations of the world.
45
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The Global Times (China) – www.globaltimes.cn
a) (Aug 20, 2012). Japanese Politicians Land on Diaoyu. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/727887.shtml
b) (Sep 27, 2012). Diaoyu Islands Fish are Chinese. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/735775.shtml
c) (Jan 12, 2013). China Urges Japan to ‘Face Reality’ as Abe Rejects Talks on Diaoyu Dispute. Retrieved March 2014 from, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/755268.shtml
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47
h) (Feb 19, 2014). Respect Will Serve Chinese Diplomacy Best in Long Run. (ED) Retrieved March 2014 from, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/843498.shtml#.UxrBwvldWSo
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48
d) *(Sep 23, 2012). Islands Dispute Tests Resolve of China and Japan. Retrieved December 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/world/asia/islands-dispute-tests-resolve-of-china-and-japan.html?pagewanted=1
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49
h) (Dec 3, 2013). China’s Air Defence Zone: What You Need to Know. Retrieved January 2014 from, http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/03/chinas-air-defense-zone-what-you-need-to-know/?iref=allsearch
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The Guardian (UK) – www.theguardian.com
a) *(April 19, 2012). Tokyo’s Right-wing Governor Plans to Buy Disputed Senkaku Islands. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/tokyo-governor-senkaku-islands-china
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50
The Economist (UK) – www.economist.com
a) *(Sep 22, 2012). China and Japan: Could Asia Really Go to War Over These? Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/node/21563316
b) (Sep 17, 2012). Anti-Japan Protests: Outrage, To a Point (ED). Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2012/09/anti-japan-protests
c) (Oct 6, 2012). Nationalism in Japan, Beware the Populists. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/node/21564263
d) *(Dec 22, 2012). The Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands: Narrative of an Empty Space. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568696-behind-row-over-bunch-pacific-rocks-lies-sad-magical-history-okinawa-narrative
e) (Jan 19, 2013). The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: Dangerous Shoals. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21569740-risks-clash-between-china-and-japan-are-risingand-consequences-could-be
f) *(Nov 25, 2013). East China Sea Dispute: Troubled Skies over Troubled Water (ED). Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/11/east-china-sea-dispute
g) *(Nov 30, 2013). East China Sea: Regional Turbulence. Retrieved December 2013 from, http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21590974-china-escalates-dispute-angering-japan-and-unnerving-its-neighbours-regional-turbulence
h) (Dec 3, 2013). Who Really Owns the Senkaku Islands? (ED). Retrieved January 2014 from, http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/12/economist-explains-1
i) (Jan 18, 2014). Defence in Japan: Don’t Look Back. Retrieved March 2014 from, http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21594299-japan-should-be-able-defend-itself-any-other-country-honouring-war-criminals-makes
Notes:
* - Indicates that an article includes a graph or diagram depicting the islands or disputed territory.
(ED) – Indicates that an article is written by a member of the newspaper’s editorial staff.
51
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Images and Graphs from Outside Sources
Figure 1.0 - http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/11/29/1385719647553/ef2edc37-5e17-4c49-adca-85c41b0f4b1a-460x447.png
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