Letters

Cool economic ties with Japan

On Dec 26, 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine that worships Japanese Class A war criminals. Both China and the Republic of Korea immediately issued strong condemnations.

In China, there is a saying that "a good neighbor is better than a distant relative." That's why China always seeks to keep good relations with neighboring countries. But Japan doesn't. It always feels arrogant, because it has a powerful distant relative - Uncle Sam, it doesn't care about keeping good relations with its neighbors. Having "coldness" in politics while still maintaining "warmness" in the economy will not compel Japan to admit its mistakes. Only if both aspects become "cold" will Japan change its attitude.