Popular culture can be employed to help forge friendly ties

Yet although people in the two countries may feel ill-will toward one another, as the shared enthusiasm for Your Name shows, they are also culturally bound to one another in many ways.

On Wednesday the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization added China's 24 "solar terms" to its list of the world's intangible cultural heritage. These solar terms are considered to be knowledge of time and practices developed in China through observation of the sun's annual motion.

The "solar terms", which start from the Beginning of Spring and end with the Greater Cold, have been passed down from generation to generation and used traditionally as a timeframe to guide daily routines, and are particularly important for farmers.

The exact 24 solar terms from China are also observed in Japan, printed on most Japanese calendars. Some of them are Japan's national holidays such as the Spring Equinox and the Autumnal Equinox.

One thing that always strikes me in Japan is how conscious the Japanese are of the seasons and the change of seasons.

Joseph S. Nye Jr. coined the term "soft power" in the late 1980s to explain the ability a country has to shape other countries' long-term attitudes and preference.

Nye argued, "There is an element of triviality and fad in popular behavior, but it is also true that a country that stands astride popular channels of communication has more opportunities to get its messages across and to affect the preferences of others."

China and Japan have their own soft power channels and they should use these to build healthier relations.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn