Japanese must see China anew

Fresh approaches such as a peace zone around the disputed islands could prevent cold shoulders from freezing into a security dilemma

Given that the Sino-Japanese relationship has entered a complicated transformation period, in which crisis and unexpected incidents are likely to occur, China needs to come up with innovative policies to address the new situation so that the Japanese could change the way they perceive the rising China.

Relations between the two countries began to sour when Junichiro Koizumi visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals among others, several times when he was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, despite protests from China and the Republic of Korea. Although politicians on both sides tried to break the ice in the years that followed, they could never resolve the differences that exist on issues such as the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.