Time for Japan to stop blaming China

Some of the problems that Japan blames China for are its own making. For example, it is Japan that has exported deflation to the Asia-Pacific and other regions of the world because of its two-decade-long economic downturn. And even though this has curbed the economic growth in the region and elsewhere, China has never blamed Japan because Chinese leaders know the problem has its roots in economic factors.

Accusing China of massively increasing its military budget is both groundless and ironical, because Japan's military expenditure has been growing with each passing year. Worse, the Abe administration pressured the Japanese parliament to pass a law that allows its troops to take part in overseas conflicts in the name of "collective security". By doing so, Abe even violated Japan's Constitution and went against the majority opinion of Japan's constitutional scholars.

If Japanese leaders continue with their mindless policies, they will end up dealing another big blow to the mutual trust between China and Japan. Besides, any other country that pursues economic cooperation with Japan will find itself in a fix.

Given China's growing economic potential and comprehensive capability, the country's leadership is increasingly confident of its decisions and will not change its policies just to please Japan. At times the Chinese leadership needs to change its policies, but they are changed only to protect or promote the country's interests. For example, China has not changed its policy of making efforts to improve relations with Japan despite the Abe administration's accusations against Beijing.

It's time Japanese leaders followed the example of their Chinese counterparts and stopped blaming China for all of Japan's ills and rectified their mistakes.

The author is a professor of Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University.