A Chinese influencer in Japan sparked online controversy over his aggressive tactics towards a restaurant owner in Tokoyo who refused service to Chinese customers due to China’s new wave of respiratory infections.
This follows three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused great damage to Japanese businesses, especially those in the restaurant industry. Now that another wave of mysterious respiratory infections has surfaced in China, the owner of the “Chuka Seitaigo” restaurant posted a sign on his eatery’s front door refusing service to visitors from China, which led to an aggressive confrontation with Chinese influencer “Youtou Siliufen” that was captured on video.
After the influencer’s video went viral online on Dec. 9, the situation escalated as more Chinese ultranationalists showed up to harass the restaurant owner.
The police in Japan have clarified that the owner’s decision to refuse service to people from Chinese due to the outbreak of another pandemic is not illegal.
To stop the harassment from the Chinese ultranationalists, the restaurant owner put up slogans such as, “Hong Kong Independence,” “Tibet Independence,” “Down with CCP,” and photos of tanks from the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Many Japanese customers dined at the restaurant to show their support.
When the Chinese influencer went to film again, he ended up accidentally capturing “Hong Kong Independence” and “Tibet Independence” in his videos. As a result, Chinese censors removed his videos from Chinese social media.
The police have reportedly launched an investigation targeting the movements of a wide range of anti-Japan Chinese nationalist groups in the country.
Mr. Mastsumaru said he resonated with many people in Japan who believe that the Chinese influencer and his followers were brainwashed by anti-Japan propaganda pushed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
‘CCP is the Problem’
Hayato Sato from the University of Tokyo told The Epoch Times, “The store owner was trying to protect himself and his family, and the global pandemic was truly caused by the CCP’s cover-up. So, in the end, the CCP is the problem.”Mr. Sato said those Chinese ultranationalists understand very well that Japan has the rule of law and that they can hold anti-Japan views while living in Japan. They were educated by the CCP to hate, but they would not do anything outrageous like this in China, he said.
Satoru Hagino, the director of a Japanese electronics company, told The Epoch Times that although those Chinese ultranationalists have left China, they still read the same news from the same Chinese-state propaganda outlets.
“Therefore, they are still influenced by the CCP. So whenever they see opinions that are not in line with the CCP narrative, they throw a tantrum and reveal their lack of understanding of a free society, democracy, and the rule of law,” Mr. Hagino said.
“Additionally, there are also those who are intentionally stirring up conflicts to get more views on social media from uninformed viewers in China. So when the restaurant owner puts up slogans showing support for Hong Kong and Tibet, they immediately stop filming,” he said.
“Through this incident, the Japanese people will better understand the draconian censorship and disinformation that the CCP has forced on its own people. This is a conflict between civilization and totalitarianism. I hope that Japan can also learn to separate the Chinese regime from the Chinese people.”
