Bridge over troubled waters

Besides, Abe believes that Japan's post-World War II education system needs to be changed so that Japanese citizens maintain their patriotic feelings toward their country. It is because of such an agenda that many Japanese regard Abe as a "patriot" and neighboring countries see him as a figure that would lead Japan toward right-wing nationalism.

The response of the Japanese people to Abe's proposals, however, has been a mixture of support and objection. On one hand, the Japanese public dislikes the proposals because they remind them of the pre-Pacific War period. If Japanese citizens' patriotic feeling or respect for the Japanese emperor is linked to a political motive, it will soon remind them of the "terrible" (not "good") old days when people were used as a means to attain the Japanese government's (and the military's) interests.

On the other hand, many Japanese support the Japanese government to be tough on China to maintain the status quo of the Diaoyu Islands (called Senkaku Islands in Japan). "Status quo" carries different meanings for China and Japan. For China, it means sovereignty of the islands and the belief that any sovereignty dispute will be resolved through the "wisdom of the next generations". For Japan, it means effective control of the islands along with sovereignty. Thus, just as Japan's repeated claims that there is no territorial dispute have irritated China, China's daily patrols around the islands, regarded as trespassing by Japan, have hampered Japan's effective control.

How will this seemingly zero-sum game over the islands be resolved? And can the tension be defused?

China and Japan are the second and third largest economies in the world, and it is axiomatic that their cooperation will help the global economy recover from recession. Sino-Japanese trade more than tripled in the past decade. More than 10,000 Japanese visit China every day and about 100,000 Chinese are studying in Japanese universities (four of the 11 graduate students under my supervision are Chinese).

Neither government can afford to compromise its territorial integrity. But if the issue cannot be resolved overnight, why can't the two countries' leaders follow the example of former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka, who normalized Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations in 1972 despite the issue remaining unresolved?

Both countries should reconsider their focus on the islands where only some goats live. And despite his emphasis on using deterrence against China, Abe should look for room to negotiate with China to resolve the issue peacefully. The new Chinese leadership, on its part, needs to make meaningful use of bilateral relations, because bilateral relations are no longer only bilateral but also affect global politics and the world economy.

The author is a professor of international relations at Meiji University, Japan.

(China Daily 12/21/2012 page9)