WITH Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's historic first visit to Davao City, we retrace how Japan is linked to Davao and beyond.
His visit actually is a retracing of Japan's entry to our country, which started in Davao City before World War II, in a place called Mintal which was once called "Davaokuo" or Little Tokyo.
This piece of our history is on exhibit at the Davao Museum along Bonifacio Rotunda and Magallanes Street. It tells of how Japanese workers came to the city in 1912 during the American occupation, where they were sent to replace Lumad farm workers in some 50 plantations around the Davao Gulf.
One of the Japanese pioneers was Kyosabura Ohta, who operated an abaca plantation and other businesses that helped Japan Barangay Guianga in Mintal District flourished. A hospital, school and irrigation system were built. Some 20,000 Japanese lived in Mintal at that period.
Such strong presence was a cause of concern for some Davao locals, that during the national constitutional convention in 1934, a delegate named Pantaleon Pelayo Sr. denounced the control and land acquisition of Japanese businesses in Davao as a sign of the growing power of Japan in Asia. This made the government declare Davao as a chartered city with appointive officials.
That did not stop Japan from declaring war later on and occupied this country and other parts of Asia. Japan-Philippines relations soured during the war, with stories of Filipinos being held prisoners and forced to hard labor in tunnels. Even elder Filipino-Chinese remember their families and properties perished during such dark history.
Japanese relations with the country returned in 1958 after Japan signed an international agreement of war reparations. From that point, Japan's second invasion this time was in trade, investments and loans.
Japan is now our top export market as we give them bananas, workers and entertainers and our second top source of imports as we enjoy their Sony's, Toyota's, and Nintendo's. Japan also poured in over $10 billion in development aid for infrastructure, utilities and services to the country from 1960 to 2002. Japan also "invested" in peace projects in Muslim provinces in Mindanao since 2002.
The joke goes that during the war, people would say, "Naay Hapon! Hapa!" Nowadays people will say "Naay Hapon! Hayang!"
And Japan continues to pour in the aid and investments, with Abe's visit and talks with the Philippine government guaranteeing half a trillion dollars in investments.
There are talks that Japan may bring infrastructure and trains to Davao City. But nowadays, we are glum about the rise in traffic, and wonder if bringing in more buildings, roads and people would make things better or worse.
Do aid and investments bring jobs, development or bring in negative effects such as strict labor policies, environment issues, or displacement of communities? IBON International Director Antonio Tujan wrote about the negative side of Japanese official development aid (ODA) in the construction of the South Cebu Reclamation Project and Cebu South Coastal Road Project years ago, which was touted to be a special economic zone for industries and export in Cebu. The effects on the communities were negative with reports of demolition and lack of employment for the community members to this development zone. Tujan pointed out that the "ultimate question that Japan ODA must address is development and poverty reduction."
Japan's presence here has come a long way from a community in Mintal to a donor-superpower for the country and the rest of Asia. President Duterte calls the relationship with Japan as "kinship." But we must look at this with guarded optimism with our lessons and struggles traced from the past.
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