China’s Communist Party paper warns of Japanese militarism seeping into culture and sports

Japanese militarism is infiltrating culture and sports, a key Communist Party publication has warned, spotlighting table tennis star Tomokazu Harimoto and others in a pointed commentary.

According to the article in the Study Times, run by the cadre-training Central Party School, Japanese far-right forces are using cultural and sporting activities to “influence public perception and beautify the history of aggression”.

These activities included football player Kaoru Mitoma being photographed with cards relating to a Japanese World War II soldier accused of war crimes, as well as visits by Harimoto and others to Tokyo’s Togo Shrine, the commentary published on Friday noted.

The shrine is dedicated to Togo Heihachiro, an admiral who fought against China in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Japan celebrates him as a “god of victory” but China sees him as a pioneer of Japanese militarist expansion.

A social media post shows Japanese international Kaoru Mitoma and a youth player posing with football cards depicting the image of a Japanese World War II soldier accused of war crimes. Photo: Handout

Star table tennis player Harimoto, whose parents are Chinese, sparked widespread anger on Chinese social media when he paid a visit to the shrine before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

South China Morning Post