Gathering transcends dispute

After he cohosted a successful mid-October seminar at Peking University attended by both leading Chinese and Japanese researchers, Wataru Inoue was amazed when his fellow scholars encouraged him to host more of the same in the future.

Inoue, a 45-year-old professor of Japanese ancient history studies at the university, was concerned about a month ago that his seminar plans might be suspended.

News stories depicting halted or delayed bilateral public exchanges poured in after China-Japan ties plunged to a record low amid territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands in mid-September.