Critical View on Philippines-Japan Friendship Day

Melissa De la Cruz

From the Filipino-Japanese Friendship Memorial Shrine in Baguio City
http://isshin3jph.blog.com/2011/08/15/the-66th-anniversary-of-the-end-of-the-war-of-japan/

The shrine in the Filipino-Japanese Friendship Park in Baguio City
http://isshin3jph.blog.com/2011/07/23/filipino-japanese-friendship-memorial-shrine-in-baguio-city/

From the point of view of emerging nations like the Philippines, celebrating friendship day may be a cruel reminder of the dark past that our nation has had to go through. Not only the Philippines but the continent is no neophyte to the terrors of its colonial past. Nine out of the 10 nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were at a point in time in the 20^th century under a colonial power. Philippines-Japanese relations have improved tremendously considering the tainted and brutal past we share. Treaties and agreements come and go, repatriations were paid for and rapport was restored. But in order to truly say that the past was forgiven is when we look at the grassroots level and see if the ordinary Juan’s and Juana’s out there think the same.

Having to celebrate Philippine-Japanese friendship day is a means for us to better our understanding of not only our nation but the world. We can only learn so much in the books that we read. Learning about the status quo through visual means and having a healthy discourse is, for our team, a better means to stay enlightened and up to date. Limiting ourselves to the constrained view of post-colonial tenets will only make us more irrelevant. In order to better our stance as an individual, organization and as a nation we should be able to put aside the bitter feelings of the past. The increasing interconnectedness means we live in a cosmopolitan world in the sense that we are looking to live in harmony with other cultures because we all have the same goal of achieving prosperity for all.

Cosmopolitanism is the ability to live in cultural understanding moving past conflicts to work together in the creation of efficient outcomes (Vainikka, 2013). Instead of having to constantly question the motives of our former colonizers, we can start thinking of better ways to improve our relations. The world is your oyster, they say. Continuing friendship days is a chance for everyone to become better aware of other cultures. It is not knowledge that cause chaos but rather ignorance. The more informed you are in dealing with different cultures, the better your chances of succeeding in your chosen field.