Love and Deepspace's 731 Controversy: Context from Sino-Japanese Relations and a Call to Boycott
Not enough people in the Western and Japanese Love and Deepspace(LADS) fandoms know the significance of the numbers, 731. For those who don't know, the numbers reference Japanese Imperial Army Unit 731. It's best known for its heinous biological warfare, torture of soldiers and civilians alike, field testing, and cruel, lethal "experiments" on living human beings. This is the lightest I could possibly describe it to convey just how awful it was.
For the sake of time, I will primarily focus on things surrounding 731. There are a lot of reasons to be mad at Infold right now.
I want to shed light on the contemporary context from a Sino-Japanese relations angle. The goal of this post is to show how and why the mass reporting of this number has led to the situation we are currently in. And I hope this post will inspire more empathy and understanding to the Western audience.
If you haven't heard, the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) was made aware that the number "0731" appeared in Xavier’s "World Underneath" story about Isaiah in LADS. The number appeared within the context of human experimentation. People started drawing other parallels, too, like the following…
One thing that I do feel qualified to talk about is the controversy surrounding a character's name. In the same story, a character named “Yan Song,” has been said to bear resemblance to the following Japanese Imperial Army Members…
Yoshio Iwamatsu(義雄岩松), a lieutenant general
Linguistically, I could say this is the closest match.
Iwane Matsui (石根松井), a major war criminal executed for involvement with the Nanjing Massacre
Note that the characters are close but 石 is missing the 山 radical on top.
Said in Chinese, the characters 岩松 would be prounced: “Yánsōng.” Though I’m not defending Infold's recent actions, note that there are real people alive today with Yan Song as their first name. And though it's a little rare and not super trendy with babies today, there doesn't seem to be a stigma. And both 岩 松 are common to see in Japanese last names, so it feels unavoidable that this connection was made when tensions were high.
I believe it was proximity to 731 that led to these connections being made. It further fueled the mass reporting frenzy to the CCP and subsequent media storm. However, as Japan has so much Chinese linguistic influence and how there is a deep, lasting impact from its actions during WWII, connections like these are rather easy to make. Because the number was there, it's my belief that connections like the one mentioned above were inevitable.
Now, whether we like it or not, Valko’s release will forever be tied to this scandal in the Chinese mainland. And though the number was in a part of the story completely unrelated to him, because of the public outrage surrounding it, this controversy will greatly impact what happens to the character in the future, and will likely be the nail in the coffin. Posts mentioning the two in the same place contribute to this, and though this likely won't be read by CCP authorities, I can't help but think I'm contributing to the problem somehow. But I chose to use his related tags because I haven't seen this information mentioned as much.
Infold claimed that “0731” wasn't chosen intentionally. They changed it less than a week ago. Some Chinese netizens have said that they had thought it represented a date, which perhaps shows how it flew under the radar. It's what I thought initially, too. But I still think that it was undeniably a liability and easily avoidable with better internal policies. This is where I'll leave the topic.
Imperial Japan’s Unaccountability: A Reason of Many this Issue Remains a Deep Source of Bitterness
I want to talk about how we can see why the controversy surrounding this number spread so quickly from Japan's previous actions and current education system.
I can't talk about Unit 731’s victims’ stories with the depth they deserve. Mass tragedies at these scales are never comparable. But imagine the following hypothetical scenario about Unit 731 that I felt could resonate better with Western people.
Imagine you're a student living in Germany. You're in history class. And in that history class, you're learning about World War II. The horrific acts the Nazis committed against the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau are contained within just a single short paragraph and picture. The class briefly touches it. And then the class moves on.
When you go home and look into it more, you learn that there are currently many people in the government who believe these kinds of topics should not be taught. Aside from statements by politicians, there has never been any official, direct apology from the government.
Now replace Germany with Japan, the Nazis with Unit 731, and the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau with the victims of Unit 731. This is how these war crimes are still largely treated in the Japanese education system. Japan has experienced a sudden rise in far-right-wing ideology.
There are now a concerning number of individuals in the government who believe topics like this should be removed from the curriculum. Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama made a statement with a general apology in the 1995 Murayama Statement, specific acts were not mentioned. Should this trend continue, it wouldn't be surprising if the truth were to become even more obscured.
I'm a second-generation Japanese American. I've lived in Japan for about three and a half years total. The vast majority of Japanese people here have ancestors directly involved in fueling the war machine of Imperial Japan because of the mandatory conscription, myself included. It's deeply saddening just how unaware the average person is about the full truth about the Imperial Japanese Army’s actions. Of course, the US has the same problem. My education was almost completely in the states. I had to learn from sources outside of school to get more informed.
Still, I'm no history expert. The most that I can say is this. I had previously learned about Unit 731. People I deeply cherish are direct descendants of people impacted by the Japanese Imperial Army’s war crimes. But because of my privilege as someone with less associated generational trauma, I like other readers assumed it was a date. I didn't catch it when I should have. I still failed to notice it immediately after reading that section.
And if you're still relatively new to this topic, I don't blame you. The history we learn is deeply politicized and shaped by the society we are raised in. Your education may have never given you the information or tools necessary to seek out the truth. But you can always change that!
The best people to learn about tragedies from are survivors. We lose hundreds of people who remember WWII daily. The knowledge from that period fades every day. Unit 731's actions are just one of many atrocities committed by the Japanese Empire in the Pacific. The total victims from that unit alone numbers in the hundreds of thousands. As for its camps?
ZERO of the people who entered Unit 731's camps as prisoners survived. Records detailing their suffering were destroyed by Japan and details were covered up by the US. Most of the worst perpetrators not captured by Russia received pardons from the US for "scientific knowledge." Unit 731’s members weren't the only ones to be granted these pardons either, though it is the most egregious example.
What we know is from the evidence left, and accounts and testimonies from perpetrators and accomplices.
We will never know everything that really happened.
With all this said, I am not a race traitor. This is not to say that I believe that Japan isn't an important voice for peace. As the only country ever attacked with nuclear weapons, the legacy and stories of the Hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bombs, cannot afford to be forgotten.
Imagine if more countries were as committed to denuclearization as Japan. The world would be different. And it would be better. And though Japan began addressing some of its war crimes in the 90's, there is still not nearly enough education being done. The little progress made could so easily backslide.
Today, Japan's image is known globally for its stance on peace. But countless families and communities in the Pacific have never forgotten the country it once was. They live with the memories and generational trauma. And to them this image is unjust because it’s painted in their own blood.
I believe that true peace or justice cannot exist without both immediate and ongoing accountability, something that is clearly lacking in the current political environment. But I hope to see that change in the future.
With this context, I hope you have gained a better understanding of some of the issues at play. The pain from these tragedies can still be especially raw to those with close ties to it, and it is a national source of resentment in China. Anger can be blinding to context and intentions, and now the issue and outrage is extremely public. It should be easy to see why things spiraled out of hand so quickly, and why Infold had to withdraw their statement and backpedal.
It's true that Love and Deepspace’s story covers many dark themes, and to dismiss the situation solely as a mistake that was exposed by bad actors who abused the CCP reporting system.
But please. Please know there are real people out there who are hurting.
Education: Pacific Atrocities
I would like to take some time and encourage people to learn about 731. And to look beyond it, too. But I want you to seek out that information yourself.
Exercise appropriate caution and self care as you learn more. Japanese occupation was one of humanity's darkest hours. But take some time to understand the trauma however much you can.
For a place to start learning more about Unit 731 and the Pacific Theater, Pacific Atrocities is a reputable NPO and they have collected a lot of information all in one place.
Historians, advocates, and the survivors and their descendants would be far better sources of that information. Here is a list of the documented war crimes done by Japan during the Pacific Theater as compiled by this organization.
Why Are We Here? Some Questions I Have
Back to LADS, remember why we are here. Who put the number in the game in the first place? It wasn’t the Chinese fans. It wasn't those who reported the issue to the CCP. (And I hate to gloss over this regime. It has committed more than its own share of human rights violations and genocide.)
Infold was careless at best, leaving an easy opening for mass reporting, and wildly insensitive at worst. We may never truly know what any individual’s intentions were. But the negligence clearly only provided further fuel to the flames. Many people only learned about the controversy after things started boiling over, which undoubtedly shaped opinions.
The CCP’s censorship laws can easily be weaponised. We've seen what mass-reporting can do in previous cases, like Snowbreak: Containment Zone. Some Chinese netizens have supposedly come forward and claimed that their personal rage was manufactured and that they intentionally abused the system. I believe that’s its own separate issue, and abusing a real tragedy for your own agenda is heartless behavior. Likewise, if you are one of the Western people I have seen people reporting social media accounts and the game to CCP channels: Stop. It. The CCP government can easily destroy lives.
I see many people claim that Chinese fans hadn't reported this issue until recently. But how do we really know that?
Some people may have been publicly quiet on social media but still privately reported the issue to the CCP or Infold. But since the media situation was so different, it went unaddressed. Know that we are almost certainly missing information that would show the true timeline of events.
When was it first reported to Infold? To the CCP?
We don't really know for sure.
Information is obscured across the board due to privacy, political regimes, language barriers, and social media landscapes.
And one thing I want to know is: Could the money and global soft power Infold generates have been a factor as to why they had avoided such a public confrontation by the CCP up until recently?
This is total speculation. And admittedly, I don't know much about the specific inner workings of the CCP, so it may not actually be plausible to begin with. But because the controversy was once much quieter, I can't help but wonder if money could have somehow been in the picture. Could it have helped the company leave issues unaddressed and sweep them under the rug until they exploded?
I've talked to one anonymous Chinese netizen who thinks that Infold’s soft power and global scale will be a key factor in whether or not LADS has a future. The Chinese media landscape is vastly different from most other countries. Know that similar political scandals involving large, organized groups have resulted in censorship and bans. Large, domestic, organized fandoms scare the CCP. I believe there is a significant chance the game will never be the same after what happened. Archive anything you feel attached to.
It’s easy to solely blame what happened on the mass reporting to authorities. However I believe the CCP could have been aware of the issue but it wasn't publicly addressed because it was not as loud online. We will likely never know the full truth. But it’s easy to think we do.
I want to end with one final thing.
Especially if you are a content creator with a larger audience, I have a request. It's about how we choose to treat others when we're angry.
We all have so many things to be angry about in this situation alone. If I tried to list them all, I'd for sure miss something important.
But please. Be mindful how you speak to and about real people.
It's easy to fixate on extremist actions. It's easy to generalize. It's easy to start spewing racist, ableist garbage. And it's even easier if it's said to us, too. Believe me, I've seen what some vocal extremists on the Chinese side have said. Black and darker-skinned fans have experienced it the worst by far. They have had such awful things said about them and have had to deal with so much just from existing in this fanspace to begin with. It’s absolutely their right to feel hurt and angry.
But if you have privilege and reach? And you're out there making clickbait thumbnails calling a whole group of people crazy? You’re careless at best, and insensitive at worst.
You can say that you're not talking about all Chinese players all you like. Whatever helps you sleep at night. But participating in such loaded ragebait for the sake of engagement does real harm. You can be angry, but you can be better, too.
Take all the anger you're rightfully feeling right now. But be mindful of to whom and how it is directed. Keep sharing your feelings, ideally with time and money. LADS won't EOS from Western boycott alone. That is fear baiting. But our actions will shape what the future brings. I believe the fate of LADS is firmly in the CCP’s hands now, and there's not much we can directly do about that from the outside.
But we can still be kind and compassionate.
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