Reminder of belligerent past

Japan's aggressive attitude toward neighboring countries is a throwback to its bellicose history of the early 20th century

Sino-Japanese relations have nosedived since hawkish Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara unveiled his plan to "purchase" Diaoyu Islands from their "private owner" five months ago. For Beijing, the highly charged "privatization-nationalization" political soup Ishihara and the Japanese central government have cooked is eerily reminiscent of the early 1930s when right-wing extremists hijacked Japan's foreign policy as a restless Japan drifted toward wars, one more treacherous than the other.

One wonders how a local politician - who is 80 years old and should have been overwhelmed by the administrative burden of the one of the world's largest metropolitan areas - gets the time to maneuver himself into the driver's seat of Japan's foreign policy. While behind-the-scene deals between Ishihara and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cannot be ruled out, the "change" in the ownership of the Diaoyu Islands and its devastating impact on the 40-year tacit understanding between China and Japan to maintain status quo on the islands' issue, raises a vital question: Who actually controls Japan's foreign policy?