Mischief-maker needs to undo his mischief

A great throng of Chinese tourists swelled the number of foreigners visiting Japan to a record high in July. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, nearly 1.27 million foreigners visited Japan in July, up 27 percent from a year earlier, with 281,200 Chinese tourists visiting the country, double the number that visited Japan 12 months ago.

A survey conducted by US travel information website Travelzoo showed that Japan is the most popular overseas travel destination for Chinese tourists this year, up from last year's ranking of 10th to share the No 1 spot with the United States.

However, the rising number of visitors from China does not mean the Chinese are oblivious to the tensions between their country and its neighbor. The opinion polls released in Tokyo on Tuesday found that more than 80 percent of Chinese people had bad feelings about Japan thanks to the territorial dispute between the two countries and Japanese leaders' perception of its war history.