"Spiritually Japanese" (), abbreviated as jingri (), is a pejorative term used in sociopolitical discourse in China to refer to Chinese people who are perceived to hold extreme pro-Japanese and anti-Chinese sentiments. According to Chinese state media, archetypal traits of those perceived as being "spiritually Japanese" include issuing expressions of support for World War II-era Japanese militarism in China, defending or minimising Japan's war crimes against Chinese civilians and more broadly speaking holding a favourable view of Japan. Chinese people who express admiration for modern Japanese politicians or challenge China's unilateral sovereignty claims may also be considered "spiritually Japanese". A neologism that developed out of online communities, the term has seen increasing use in recent years.
Background
The increased prevalence of international cultural exchange in the modern world has increased the influence of foreign cultures, including Japanese culture, on certain segments of Chinese society. According to Chinese Communist theorists Yang Jinhua and Huang Chenchen, this has led to the rise of jingri who accord with the values and politics of Japanese society far more than they do China's, seemingly viewing China as merely an "accidental place of birth" while according Japan with the title of their "spiritual motherland". They seek to maintain a "Japanese-style" manner of living. Some internet celebrities seen as jingri have made statements or engaged in actions that express support for or present a romanticized image of Japan. These have included many forms of expression, including expression in the form of text, images, language choice, music, video media, and body language, up to dressing up as World War Two-era Japanese military officers. Among them have been those who hold unusual interpretations of the Nanjing massacre, with some even stating that "the [Japanese military] killed too few people [in Nanjing]." This has incited anti-Japanese xenophobia in China. Some individuals who have praised Japan, labelled as supporters of the Japanese far right, have been violently attacked in public.
According to a Chinese-language BBC article, jingri generally refers not to those who merely appreciate Japan's technological advancements, support friendly China-Japan relations, or consume Japanese goods, but rather to those who "spiritually equate themselves with Japanese people (that are on the far right)."
Incidents 2014 On September 6, 2014, during the 28th Taishan International Mountaineering Festival, a man was seen wearing clothing bearing the words "Imperial Japanese Navy". He was subsequently surrounded and reproached by onlookers, upon which he explained that he had grown up in Japan and that the clothing was part of his normal dress. A member of the crowd came forward to rip his clothing off, leading to a confrontation between the man and other tourists. In the end, the man put on a jacket provided by staff members at the festival before being escorted away by police.男子穿旭日旗T恤参加泰山登山节惹众怒 衣服被撕(组图) .人民网.
2017 The Sihang warehouse Japanese military costume photograph incident occurred on the afternoon of August 7, 2017. In response to the incident, Sina Weibo user (God's eagle) made a post stating "While wearing WWII-era Japanese military uniforms, 4 jingri came by night to the Sihang Warehouse, a well-known historical site from the Sino-Japanese war and a patriotic education centre, and viciously disgraced the heroic souls of the martyrs; this is a sight that makes your blood boil; please spread this widely!" A screenshot indicated that the QQ user (Ribbons Wissen) had made a post stating that "Thanks to everybody's help, our trip of seven days around Songhu has been completed successfully, including the night ambush with four people." In the post, the user mentions several details relating to the execution of their plan, indicating that many people were present on that night who did it in a matter of seconds." He also called the experience "thrilling". He indicated that "if I had to make up a plot for this, it would be that in the final part of the war, military officers who had participated in the Battle of Shanghai returned to pay the place another visit." While taking the photographs, onlookers stared at the participants but did not try to stop them.
On August 13, 2017, individuals wearing Japanese military uniforms appeared in Binyang County and openly supported the Japanese invasion of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
2018 On February 20, 2018, two men appeared at the Xishan pillbox cluster on Purple Mountain in Nanjing wearing Japanese military uniforms. That night, the two received strong criticism on social media. Following the incident, a man made threats towards the individual who reported on the incident and was placed under administrative detention for 7 days by police. In August of the same year, the Sina Weibo user (Shiba Tatsuya-taijin) posted various comments, including "Prime Minister Abe is my real father" and "I am not a servant of the West; I'm a jingri", in the commentary section of the Mianyang internet police's Weibo account page. On August 16, he was placed under administrative detention without trial by the police department of Ma'anshan in Anhui Province, which found that his online commentary had broken China's laws on picking quarrels and provoking trouble.网民发布"安倍是亲爹""台湾国"等言论被刑拘 .網易新聞.
2019
On April 8, 2019, phrases such as "long live Japan", "those who support China are stupid cunts" and "down with Chinese imperialism" suddenly appeared on an LED screen above the door to the emergency department of Gaoyang County's hospital. A netizen who discovered that the signage had been digitally vandalized took a short video clip of it, with hospital security attempting to stop him. After the video was uploaded, it immediately incited public attention. Following this, the hospital cut power to the screen and coordinated with Gaoyang County's health department to report the incident to the police. At around 3 p.m., police arrested a 31-year-old suspect surnamed Li in connection with the incident.
On July 11, 2019, it was revealed that Wuhan University had accepted a Taiwanese exchange student named Ke Quanyao who had posted "jingri" commentary on Facebook, including expressing anticipation for the "motherland" Japan to retake Taiwan and claiming that Taiwan and Japan are "two islands that both belong to the same Japan".台籍交换生被曝涉"台独""精日"言论, 武大回应 .观察者网. Following this, Ke abandoned his plans to attend Wuhan University.
On July 28 and 29, 2019, the provinces of Liaoning, Anhui, Hubei and Jiangsu jointly published a communiqué on police actions taken to combat allegedly jingri elements in society. According to the communiqué, police in Shahekou, Liaoning Province have accused a Liaoning resident surnamed Lu of posting jingri commentary and cartoons that were anti-China or that humiliated the Chinese people on foreign websites, and of disseminating anti-China, pro-jingri ideas towards Chinese youth in order to draw them into an illegal organization that he established online. Lu was arrested by police while returning from Japan. Police in Huainan, Anhui Province claimed that a 22-year-old local female resident, Zhang Dongning, had made a series of cartoons consisting of more than 300 panels that mocked the Chinese people, depicting them with pig heads. According to police, Zhang Dongning had an interest in Japanese manga and very much adored Japanese culture, displaying clear jingri and anti-China tendencies. Zhang had made contact online with Lu and began making the cartoons for Lu to publish online. Zhang Dongning was arrested in May 2019. Police in Susong County, Anhui indicated that individuals holding Laizhou, Jiangxi residency surnamed Ye, Xu, Liu, and Liao had sold illegally-obtained personal information to jingris. The four were arrested in October 2018 and sentenced in March 2019. Police in Wuhan and Yichang, Hubei indicated that an arrest has been approved for a 24-year-old man surnamed Zhang because he had posted reactionary rumours and personal information; used the internet to violently intimidate others; and stirred up ethnic hatred and besmirched the national image. A 17-year-old surnamed Li only received a reprimand due to admitting his mistakes with a good attitude and offering up information about crimes committed by other jingri individuals. Police in Fancheng District, Hubei indicated that a netizen surnamed Zhang had colluded with anti-China jingri elements over social media; he was reported and received 7 days of administrative detention without trial. Police in Jianli, Hubei indicated that a jingri surnamed Zhu had been formulating and spreading discourse online that "shames China" or "opposes China". Jianli Police state that after being reported and while under police investigation, Zhu, at his own volition, offered up information about other jingri individuals, deleted the harmful information that he had posted, and logged out of the relevant social networking accounts; he received a reprimand from police. Police in Nanjing, Jiangsu indicated that a 20-year-old Changshu resident surnamed Dai had stolen several hundred Weibo accounts and impersonated Mianyang Internet Police, was spreading commentary that was anti-China or disgraceful towards China, and had disseminated Japanese militarist ideas towards youth. Dai received administrative detention without trial.一天之内警情通报"七连发"!多名"精日"分子被抓获雷霆出击, "精日"被抓!又来五份战果.
On September 29, 2019, a Langzhong, Sichuan man surnamed Qi whose WeChat username was "24K Chunshuai" (, 24K pure handsome) posted in a WeChat conversation about the movie My People, My Country () the words "My Great Japanese Empire and I". He also, on numerous occasions, expressed controversial commentary about the military parades held for the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China and was criticized and reported by other WeChat users. At dawn on September 30, Langzhong Police placed Qi under administrative detention lasting 7 days in accordance with section 26 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China.南充阆中网警依法行政拘留一侮辱阅兵式官兵的网民
Reactions Official
The Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, as well as media outlets affiliated with them, have made statements defining the jingri phenomenon, delineating jingri from what they perceive to be a healthy appreciation for foreign cultures, and condemning those they see as jingri. The government and Party have also implemented and proposed legal measures in the name of combatting the jingri phenomenon.
The Communist Youth League of China has stated that "appreciation of the excellency of foreign cultures is not at odds with passionate love for one's own country" and that merely enjoying Japanese manga and animation, eating Japanese cuisine and loving Japanese culture does not make a person jingri. Instead, Jingri are those who display a clear passion for Japanese militarism, elevating it above their love for their own culture, and thereby disrespect or humiliate their own country. According to a commentator for the Frontline magazine, the magazine of the Communist Party Committee of Beijing, jingri differ in their actions and motives, expressing their tendencies in different ways. The crux of the jingri phenomenon, according to the commentator, is a distorted view of history rooted in historical nihilism. The commentator further indicates that jingri elements in society blindly worship Japan, defend the criminal acts Japan has committed in invading other countries, express commentary that damages "national feelings", and fabricate history in favour of their ideological goals.
According to the Communist Party newspaper Global Times, jingri are "hiding among us", with jingri groups being found on QQ and Baidu Tieba.