Charles Augustine R. Albaño
Japan was once the greatest military power in Asia that dominated the region for decades. In terms of military might, industrialization, wealth and technology, Japan is still in its prime. Throughout history, even until this very day, Japan's supremacy over the region has not yet faltered despite the limitations of its constitution. It is a force to be reckoned with, its power shall never be underestimated, and its interests shall never be undermined for Japan is still one of the leading world powers.
The Colonialist History
In history, Japan had once been a major threat to the world, long before its rise to power in the 2nd World War. It was once an isolated nation that barred its contacts from the outside world to enjoy the prosperity they had experienced until Commodore Perry of the United States of America attacked their shores. The event was a life-changer to honorable people that they would do anything to regain their honor. As one of the world's fastest-learners, they sent their most brilliant scholars to Europe, such as England and Germany, to study the knowledge of the outside world for their advantage. Once they had acquired the knowledge they required, it marked the beginning of their rise to power.
Japan tried to convince the countries of Asia to establish an East-Asia Co Prosperity Sphere, an organization that was meant to foster the trade and military relations of all the East Asian and Southeast Asian States. Majority of these states were against this proposition, especially China, because Japan had its motives of its own: to dominate over the region. In order to persuade them, Japan declared war and conquered the region by force. They had made an alliance with Germany and Italy to bolster their chances of victory, hence the birth of the Axis Powers. Japan fought the world in order to get what they wanted to the extent of fighting against the United States of America, which is one of the greatest powers. They enjoyed their short-lived victory for quite sometime until the Allied Forces retaliated and ended with the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Hence, it marked their defeat and their honor was sullied with their military powers being leashed.
Despite their fall in World War II, they had rose again to power. Although not militarily, but their economy is a form of power to be dealt with. Alongside with their prosperous economy, they had, and still have, the soft powers that influences the entire world. Its soft power is a major threat that even the strongest powers in the world, including hegemons, have fallen into their influence. Japan is strategically positioning itself to become a major power that the world may not contain.
Philippine-Japan Friendship Day
As stated earlier, Japan is powerful in terms of economy and soft power. Soft power is Japan's ace weapon in colonizing states, regardless of the power that a state possesses. Since Japan can impel its influence to hegemons, how much more the Philippines?
Philippine-Japanese Friendship Day is a day to commemorate the friendship between Filipinos and Japanese. Every year, Filipinos and Japanese alike in the Philippines celebrate this day and hold series of events to bolster the friendship between the two nationalities. In most instances, Filipinos would play Japanese songs, exhibit cosplays, hold manga conventions, and a lot more. During the day, the Japanese would offer free art exhibits and films that are much related to the Japanese culture in order to entice the Filipinos of their way of life. Despite fostering the friendship, one cannot notice that the Filipinos showcase their culture. Friendship per se is not a negative impetus, unless when the other has an ulterior motive.
This friendship day is somewhat one-sided. Based on observations, the Filipinos are overly enticed to the Japanese culture that they forgot to express their own. Filipinos watch excessive anime and overly read manga to the extent that they had not managed to express an art of their own. Surely there are notable Filipino artists, but they have been overshadowed by this trending culture. Filipinos are hospitable and friendly people, but they are overly friendly that they become naive. They had forgotten history and what Japan had done to its people because Japan is superb in covering up its mistakes, which does not only apply to the Philippines.
In terms of economic supremacy, the Japanese have accomplished in influencing the Filipinos. Japanese have owned leading brands and the biggest industries in the world. Most Filipinos trust Japanese brands due to high quality and their reasonable prices. An example of the industries that the Filipinos are enticed to are the automobile industry. Approximately, 70% of the automobiles that are owned by Filipinos are Japanese cars, most especially Toyota. This alone indicates that the Japanese have successfully penetrated the Philippine market.
The Japanese have also successfully coerce its influence in terms of government assistance. There are several contracts with the Japanese companies that entails assisting the Philippine government in its projects. In Cebu alone, there are two major projects that were built through the assistance of Japan. They are the South Road Properties (SRP) and the Marcelo Hernan Bridge, the newest bridge that connects from mainland Cebu to Mactan island. These projects also have the Japanese flag indicated in the signs of these projects. One can notice the signs before entering the SRP tunnel and every suspension of the Marcelo Hernan bridge. Thus, the influence has further spread towards the government.
The Filipinos have not yet significantly countered the influence of Japan. The Japanese the tradition has created a big impact towards the world, including the Philippines. It has dominated in many aspects that the non-Japanese, including the Japanese, are not aware of. the two-sided soft power influence over major powers and one-sided soft power influence over the weaker ones, such as he Philippines. The weak ones are not in the position to go against this because they have not yet possessed the capacity to counter the dominating influence. The Filipinos can hardly challenge the idea of Japanese post colonialism because it had already successfully infiltrated into the system and the culture of the Filipinos. Thus, Japan has succeeded in post colonizing the Philippines.
Conclusion
The Japanese would persist on to re-igniting the spirit of Imperial Japan. The Japanese people are not hasty that they would not mind taking centuries to regain their honor as they have done during the Meiji era. The Japanese have the intelligence, skills, talents and technologies to further their goal. Their soft power and economy are means to posture themselves for their future plans to come. Friendship days are nothing but illusions created by the dominating powers to exert their influence over to the minor states. Japan is no exemption. The first phase of their road to conquering is almost complete for they have successfully penetrated world markets and various cultures. Hence, these questions remain: will there be a next phase? What would the next phase be? The answer is uncertain, but one thing is definite: they will always have interests. There is no such thing as permanent alliances, only permanent interests (Henry Temple, 1852).
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