Xi Jinping Shinzo Abe

I described the prospects of a thaw in Sino-Japanese relations in a previous post due to Japanese Prime Minister’s verbal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping expressing his hope for a summit meeting with Xi in Beijing in the period of the APEC meeting.

I regard it as a very good piece of news though it is uncertain whether the summit meeting will be held, as there has been no Chinese official response to Abe’s message. It is even more uncertain whether the meeting may achieve any positive results.

In any event, what Abe said in Japanese parliament showed his hope for improvement of Japan’s relations with China. His words in Japanese parliament aimed at explaining why he wanted the improvement. It has nothing to do with what he offered China in his verbal message to Xi. There must be something positive in his verbal message, because Chinese NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang promised to pass the message to Xi Jinping and Xi Jinping has not rejected Abe’s request for the summit meeting so far.

I am very pleased at the news, because what Chinese and Japanese politicians are doing worry me.

Since July 3, China has begun to post alleged confessions of 45 captured Japanese military officers on their war crimes during WWII on the Internet, one by one every day. The war crimes disclosed in the confessions are heinous. China says it has 200,000 pages of written confessions of more than 1,000 other Japanese captives from WWII, and will make them public at an appropriate time. The hatred resulting from such propaganda will make war between China and Japan much more likely.

Abe’s Yasukuni visit has certainly pleased Japanese people and made him more popular by paying respect to those who died for Japan in wars. Chinese propaganda on the contrary spreads deep hatred of Japan among Chinese people. That will certainly make Japanese people unhappy.

What will be the long-term consequence? There will be deep-rooted hatred between the two people. Therefore, it is high time now for the politicians of the two countries to improve relations between the two countries and stop the spread of such hatred. China should put behind the sad memory, while Japan should stop glorifying the deeds of their predecessors in its previous wars with China. Let the two countries and people look ahead for better relations between them.

Reuters posted this report about the proposed meeting:

“Japan PM Abe wants to hold summit with China at APEC”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he wants to hold a summit with China at the APEC leaders meeting in Beijing in November to improve relations strained by territorial and security issues.

Abe has been in office since late 2012 and has yet to meet Chinese leaders, despite worsening ties over disputed islands in the East China Sea, China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone in the area and Abe’s visits to a Tokyo shrine seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

“It is a great pity that we have not been able to have a leaders’ summit,” Abe told a parliamentary committee.

“We need to return to the basics of a strategic relationship of mutual respect. I would like to have a summit in Beijing this November at the time of the APEC meeting.”

Abe also touched on the strong economic ties between the two nations and said that their relationship was unbreakable.

“While recognizing that even if our ties are strained they cannot be broken, there will be problems between neighbors. For this very reason we need to maintain a relationship that keeps things under control,” he said, repeating that the door for dialogue with China was always open.

Japan has been locked in a bitter territorial dispute with China over a group of tiny East China Sea islets, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Ships from both countries frequently shadow each other around the islands, raising fears of a clash.

Tensions escalated after China declared its air defense zone in the area in November, a move that also sparked concern from the United States and South Korea.

Abe’s visit a month later to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of militarism because war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal are honored there along with war dead, infuriated China and even drew criticism from the United States.

In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun daily published on Monday, Abe refused to rule out another visit to the shrine.

“In the future I hope to maintain my feeling of respect to honor those who have given their lives for the nation, but I would rather not say whether or not I will visit Yasukuni,” he was quoted as saying.

Abe also brushed off reports that Masahiko Komura, a top ruling party official and former Foreign Minister, had told China he would not go to the shrine again.

“That was Mr Komura’s thought. I don’t know about it,” he added.

Related articles

• Chinese hatred of Japan; real or government-created? (chinadailymail.com)
• China steps up appeal to West in Japan propaganda battle (chinadailymail.com)
• This is why Germany doesn’t want China anywhere near Berlin’s holocaust memorial (chinadailymail.com)
• China uses D-Day anniversary to praise Germany, slam Japan (chinadailymail.com)
• Stop Spreading Hatred between Japanese and Chinese Peoples! (tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com)
• Prospects of a Thaw in Sino-Japanese Relations (tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com)
• Japan delegation attempts to cool tensions with China (margotswebnews.wordpress.com)
• China gives Japan a history lesson (edition.cnn.com)
• Japan to call for summit with China’s Xi at Apec (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• Chuck Chiang: Japan delegation attempts to cool tensions with China (vancouversun.com)

Categories: Politics & Law

Tags: Beijing, China, Defence, East China Sea, Japan, Masahiko Kōmura, Military, Shinzo Abe, Social Issues, War, Xi Jinping, Yasukuni Shrine