Boycotts of Japanese products have been conducted by numerous Korean, Chinese and American
civilian and governmental organizations in response to real or disputed Japanese aggression and atrocities, whether
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
,
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
or
economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
.
20th century
The first boycott of Japanese products in China was started 1915 as a result of public indignation at the
Twenty-One Demands
The Twenty-One Demands ( ja, 対華21ヶ条要求, Taika Nijūikkajō Yōkyū; ) was a set of demands made during the First World War by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu to the government of the Republic of China on 18 ...
which Japan forced China to accept. In 1919, the students and intellectuals involved in the
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
called for another boycott of Japanese products, to which the public responded enthusiastically. Local chambers of commerce decided to sever economic ties with Japan, workers refused to work in Japanese-funded factories, consumers refused to buy Japanese goods, and students mobilised to
punish
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...
those found selling, buying or using Japanese products.
The
Jinan Incident of 1928 prompted a new boycott. This time, the
Kuomintng government mobilised the Chinese population to cease economic dealings with Japan. From then on, anti-Japanese protests in China would always be accompanied with boycotts of Japanese products.
The Japanese invasion of China in 1931 and the conquest of
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
were roundly criticized in the United States. In addition, efforts by citizens outraged at Japanese atrocities, such as the
Nanking Massacre
The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...
, led to calls for American economic intervention to encourage Japan to leave China; these calls played a role in shaping American foreign policy. As more and more unfavorable reports of Japanese actions came to the attention of the American government, embargoes on oil and other supplies were placed on Japan, out of concern for the Chinese populace and for American interests in the Pacific. The American public became increasingly pro-Chinese and anti-Japanese, an example being a grassroots campaign for women to stop buying silk stockings because the material was procured from Japan through its colonies.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Chinese community, which was upset over various issues such as the sovereignty of
Senkaku Islands
The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...
, the
Japanese history textbook controversies
Japanese history textbook controversies involve controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education (junior high schools and high schools) of Japan. The controversies primarily concern the nationalist ri ...
and Japanese leaders' visits to
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...
, would launch boycotts of Japanese products.
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
citizens started a boycott in September 1972 to protest Japan's diplomatic recognition of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and twice burned Japanese products in front of the
Taipei City Hall
The Taipei City Hall (), the seat of Taipei City government, is located at Xinyi Special District, Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan.
The height of building is 54.42 m, the floor area is 196,684.59m2, and it comprises 12 floors above ground, as w ...
, which was coincidentally of Japanese construction.
21st century
In 2005, a new wave of boycotts were started in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, concurrent with the
anti-Japanese demonstrations in major
Chinese cities
According to the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China there are three levels of cities, namely provincial-level (consists of municipalities ), prefecture-level cities, and county-level cities. As of June 2020 the PRC has ...
at the time. However, this boycott was at best a fringe attempt, and was denounced by the mainstream population, citing that China was integrated into the
world economy
The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, ...
and a boycott of one of China's biggest trading partners would cause as much harm to China as it would to Japan. Most people were more concerned over their standards of living than redressing old grievances. The
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Relations
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...
gave a similar view: That "Sino-Japanese economic cooperation developed significantly over the past decade and brought real benefits to the people of both nations. We do not wish for economic issues to be politicised." As with the anti-Japanese demonstrations, these activists began organising boycotts using the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
and
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s.
Boycott in South Korea
In 2019, a new wave of boycotts were started in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
as a response to the
2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute. People participating in the movement started not buying Japanese products and services, travelling to Japan, and not watching Japanese-made films.
In March, 2019,
Gyeonggi Province proposed an ordinance that would require schools to place a sticker on products made by some 284 Japanese companies (such as Nikon, Panasonic, and Yamaha which produce projectors and musical instruments for schools) that says "this product is made by a Japanese war criminal company". Of 27 members who put forward the bill, 25 belonged to the
Democratic Party of Korea. It was argued by proponents that the bill was not a boycott, but that it was to give students a correct understanding of history. In Sept 2019, Busan and Seoul Metropolitan Council successfully passed a non-binding ordinances to label products from the same list of companies. In Seoul, this would apply to new products, while the Busan law applies to products that were already purchased.
See also
*
Do not buy Russian goods!
"Do not buy Russian goods!" ( uk, Не купуй російське!, Ne kupuy rosiyske!) or "Boycott Russian goods!" ( uk, Бойкотуй російське!, Boykotuy rosiyske!) is a nonviolent resistance campaign to boycott Russian com ...
*
Boycott Chinese products
There have been campaigns advocating for a boycott of products made in China. Commonly cited reasons for boycotting China include the alleged low quality of products, human rights issues, territorial conflicts involving China, support for sepa ...
*
Great American Boycott
The Great American Boycott ( es, El Gran Paro Estadounidense, or es, El Gran Paro Americano, lit. "the Great American Strike"), also called the Day Without an Immigrant ( es, Día sin inmigrante), was a one-day boycott of United States scho ...
*
Japan–South Korea trade dispute
The Japan–South Korea trade dispute, also known as the Japan–South Korea economic war, is an ongoing economic conflict between Japan and South Korea.
There are different cited causes behind the conflict. The Japanese government removed Sou ...
References
Sources
* {{Cite book, last=Glickman, first=Lawrence B., url=https://archive.org/details/buyingpowerhisto0000glic_f7f6/page/n5/mode/2up?q=%22league+of+women+shoppers%22, title=Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America, publisher=University of Chicago Press, year=2009, isbn=9780226298672, location=Chicago, url-access=registration, via=Internet Archive
Boycotts of Japan
China–Japan relations
Japan–South Korea relations