Hope exists for damaged Sino-Japanese relations 　　 　　Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s repeated visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine put Sino-Japanese relations in a “politically chilly” situation. While many people now have a pessimistic attitude toward relations between the two countries, Fan Yongming, Director of the Japan Research Center of Shanghai-based Fudan University, said in his article published in People’s Daily Overseas Edition that there is still hope for a breakthrough in bilateral ties. His main ideas follow:
　　Sino-Japanese relations suffered severe setbacks in 2005, which makes people believe there is a real crisis. However, Sino-Japanese relations have their own intrinsic vitality, giving hope for a new breakthrough.
　　Although it is true that there are points of conflict in these relations, it does not necessarily indicate that future prospects are gloomy.
　　It is widely known that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals in World War II are worshiped, are the crux of the problem preventing Sino-Japanese relations from improving. A few years ago, although bilateral visits could not be realized because of the shrine visits, a “side door” was still left open for Chinese and Japanese leaders to meet on the sidelines of multilateral activities. But even this door has been shut up after Koizumi paid homage to the shrine in 2005.
　　
　　Is it true that no vitality is left in the body because of the existence of a persistent ailment?
　　
　　The answer is no. Sino-Japanese relations will continue to move forward. The rationale is rather obvious--Sino-Japanese relations cannot develop in isolation from the international situation.
　　In the process of multi-polarization, it goes without saying that China and Japan will both benefit from cooperation and both suffer from conflict. The deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations has already dealt a big impact on the development of East Asian cooperation. It’s by no means fortuitous that many countries expressed repeatedly their concerns for Sino-Japanese relations at the East Asia Summit last December. Koizumi was also isolated at the summit and had to borrow a pen from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the signing ceremony to break the ice.
　　It should be noted that there is no lack of insightful people and advocacy within the Japanese leadership for developing Sino-Japanese friendship. They keep criticizing Koizumi’s acts of placing personal beliefs above national interests. What is particularly conspicuous is that among those who publicly rebuke cabinet members who fan the “China threat” theory, many are key figures in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including some of Koizumi’s close friends who have helped him rise to power.
　　The Japanese political field is becoming increasingly conservative with quite a few right-wingers and hawkish figures among Koizumi’s possible successors. Nevertheless, dealing with right-wingers in foreign relations is nothing new for China. Late Chinese leader Mao Zedong said when establishing Sino-U.S. relations that he liked dealing with right-wingers. The Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship took seven years or so to negotiate and was signed eventually in August 1978 when Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo, who was regarded as a hawk at the time, was in power. Today the treaty is one of the three basic political documents for the relations between the two nations.
　　It’s undeniable that the mutual recognition of the two peoples has worsened. According to the latest survey conducted by the Japanese Cabinet Office in December 2005, only 32 percent of Japanese felt friendly toward China, the lowest figure since 1978 when the survey was first conducted and nearly 40 percentage points less than the previous year’s 71.2 percent.
　　In the meantime, some observers have modified the phrase summarizing Sino-Japanese relations in recent years from “politically chilly and economically booming” into “politically chilly and economically moderate.”
　　Declining sense of friendliness and slowdown of economic exchanges are, of course, not encouraging. They are particularly worrying at a time when the political relationship is experiencing setbacks. However, this development is not in one direction and straightforward, but rather complex and tortuous. Contrary to the decline in official relations was the remarkable increase of personnel exchanges between the two countries. Chinese visitors to Japan alone reached 650,000 last year. Despite so-called “reduced economic exchanges,” trade between the two countries was worth over $200 billion in 2005, which was a record high and represented a trend to surpass trade between Japan and the United States.
　　China’s economic growth has become an external force helping the Japanese economy out of a 10-year hiatus. On the other hand, as Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said, the $200-billion trade volume created 9.2 million jobs for China. This is the foundation for the development of the Sino-Japanese relations and must be cherished with great care.
　　Sino-Japanese relations see setbacks that should not have appeared due to various reasons. However, China’s guideline to develop a friendship with Japan has not changed. The trend of multi-polarization in international relations, the development of East Asian cooperation and the need of economic complementarity are the internal dynamics for the development of the Sino-Japanese relations. Now is the time for making major decisions and breaking through the difficult blockages.
　　

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