From Taipei to Tokyo takes less than three and half hours. Sino-Japanese relations in all areas are inextricably bound together by geographic factors. But, as history professor Cheng Ch'in-jen of National Taiwan University notes, what we know about each other remains far apart.

In recent years, however, several phenomena have created a strong feeling of the nearness of Japan.

Although there are no statistics, the boom in Japanese language schools is obvious. The most famous is perhaps that of Chiu Yung-han, an overseas Chinese from Japan, and his Eikan International Classroom. On opening five years ago, the school had only four teachers and less than twenty students. Today it has eighty teachers, 13,000 current and former students, two branch schools, and bookstores.

The success of the bookstores is evidence of the rapid rise in Japanese publications. Trend specialist Chan Hung-chih notes that as of two years ago imported Japanese printed matter passed that in English and this year caught up in the number of works translated into Chinese. Further, numerous publications specialize in news of Japan.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of Japan fever have been Soochow, Fu Jen, Chinese Cultural, and Tamkang universities, which have departments of Japanese. Formerly students who studied Japanese were scorned or advised to switch to English. Now Japanese is increasingly preferred by those taking the college entrance exams, and graduates are the objects of hot pursuit by talent scouts.

Another indicator is that in the last ten years the number of Chinese studying in Japan has increased from 2,000 to 6,000.

What does all this mean? Are we coming to understand the Japanese?

Chang Yen-hsien, an associate research fellow at the Institute of the Three Principles of the People at the Academia Sinica, argues that Taiwan is just going through a local manifestation of a global Japan fever.

In terms of language study, H.Sumiya, Director of Education at the Eikan International Classroom, says that over 80 percent of students are business people, and those who study to the point where they can read Japanese or really understand the Japanese way of thinking are quite few. "Most study for fun," he says, added a businessman who studies at the school, "If one is able to communicate, that's enough! What do you want to study so much for?"

Some are concerned about this attitude: "If one can only understand 'How about making it a little cheaper?' but can't understand the backgrounds of the people, that's too dangerous!" says Mao-feng Tsai, Dean of the School of Foreign Language and Literature at Soochow University.

Others besides businessmen studying Japanese include people from all levels, such as students or housewives. What's odd is that while many say they hope to use their language to study in Japan, very few do so (less than one percent at Eikan). Mao-feng Tsai points out that most "overseas students" study in language schools more as an excuse to go to and travel in Japan. "Even for students who graduate from Japanese departments, the number doing degree work in Japan is small."

Understanding requires information. Using the example of Japan Digest, the most authoritative publication on Japan, 70 percent of readers are businessmen; the contents therefore focus mainly on economic and business affairs. Readers of Japanese publications also include students of the language, a large group of older natives of Taiwan educated under the Japanese, and young girls attracted by Japanese fashion and pop magazines, even if they sometimes can only guess the meanings of the contents from the kanji.

With Japanese publications, the influx of Japanese television programming through satellite dishes, and the number of "Tokyo Kids" running around Hsimenting, it seems to be a "Japan fever" situation. But these things are surface phenomena-what about the scholarly community?

Mao-feng Tsai says, "The number of students passing the Japanese TOEFL is about 150 a year; the number has not changed in ten years." And most-except for a few in law-specialize in the natural sciences or medicine. Ironically, the lowest number is in economics. Nor can the situation at home be considered flourishing. Of the four universities noted above, except for Tamkang's urban research program, the remainder focus on language with a few courses in literature. Said one scholar, "If language is the door knocker to researching a country's culture, then we're still just knocking on the door."

But what of our close geographic and historical relations? Most Chinese know that the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) inspired great changes in Japan on the T'ang model. For this reason many Chinese mistakenly believe that "Japan has no culture; the culture all comes from China." Special attention should be paid to one fact--fundamentally, Japan is a copying and blending culture. That is, Japan borrows, but combines the new with the old for a uniquely Japanese mixture. We should not therefore have an attitude of "cultural mother country" and not condescend to learn from others.

Columnist Li Chia, who often writes on Japan, points out that since the late Meiji era in Japan, relations between the two countries have been increasingly interwoven, but relations between the people farther and farther apart. "Relations between the countries" means the step-by-step invasion of Chinese territory by imperial Japan, culminating in war in 1894 and 1937; relations between the people thus turned from closeness and respect (characterized by the large group of students who studied in Japan in the early part of this century) to fear and hatred. And not only did the invasion cause great harm, but it led to the failure of the Communist suppression campaigns. "Every blood debt is on the Japanese bill," angrily said one elderly man from Shantung. Many still won't buy Japanese products and want to prohibit the younger generation from studying the language.

But for some Taiwanese, not direct witness to Japanese brutality in WWII, the Japan experience has been different. One scholar pointed out that Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, minimizing the need for use of armed force. Further, with Taiwan as Japan's base for moving south, the Japanese actively built up Taiwan, leaving behind much infrastructure. And the fifty-year experience with Japanese rule, enough to change to a second generation, was not the same as the 14-year experience of Manchuria.

Both of these groups "affect the development of a rational understanding" of the country, says Li Hong-hsi, a professor of law at National Taiwan University. Adds Chang Yen-hsien, "We must earnestly, without bias, and calmly take another look at this neighbor."

[Picture Caption]

Japan and China have always had frequent interchanges between them, and quite a few R.O.C. athletes now play for teams in Japan. The picture shows a woman golfer from Taiwan competing at the Kumamodo golf course on Kyushu. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

"Tokyo Kids," Eikan language schools. Is Japan fever rising?

Japan's economic power threatens even the United States; the photo is of Time Square in New York.

Japanese culture has been strongly influenced by Chinese culture, but that is not to say Japan lacks its own distinct culture; pictured is a book bound in the traditional Chinese style, housed at the Kumamodo City museum in southern Kyushu. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

Many families from Taiwan or Manchuria could show similar photos; this is a class portrait taken on a camping trip. (photo courtesy of Cheng Yi-fang)

How many Japanese publications can you find?

The dramatic increase in students studying in Japan has stimulated Japanese language schools to come to Taiwan to actively recruit business.

Many of the first generation of entrepreneurs on Taiwan had Japanese educations; the photo is of the annual sports meet at Formosa Plastics Company. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

The eight-year war of resistance against Japan (1937-1945) created untold suffering in China and left many Chinese embittered against Japanese. (photo courtesy of the Historical Commission of the Kuomintang)

Satellite dishes: is there a cultural invasion?

The "Cherry Blossom Nation"--are they really very different from us? (photo by Arthur Cheng)

Japan's economic power threatens even the United States; the photo is of Time Square in New York.

"Tokyo Kids," Eikan language schools. Is Japan fever rising?

Many families from Taiwan or Manchuria could show similar photos; this is a class portrait taken on a camping trip. （photo courtesy of Cheng Yi-fang）

Japanese culture has been strongly influenced by Chinese culture, but that is not to say Japan lacks its own distinct culture; pictured is a book bound in the traditional Chinese style, housed at the Kumamodo City museum in southern Kyushu. （photo by Arthur Cheng）

The dramatic increase in students studying in Japan has stimulated Japanese language schools to come to Taiwan to actively recruit business.

Many of the first generation of entrepreneurs on Taiwan had Japanese educations; the photo is of the annual sports meet at Formosa Plastics Company. （photo by Arthur Cheng）

How many Japanese publications can you find?

The eight-year war of resistance against Japan （1937-1945） created untold suffering in China and left many Chinese embittered against Japanese. （photo courtesy of the Historical Commission of the Kuomintang）

Satellite dishes: is there a cultural invasion?

The "Cherry Blossom Nation"--are they really very different from us? （photo by Arthur Cheng）