Muji's map mistake need not impede thaw in ties

Immediately after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated his eagerness to improve his country's relations with China, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono made a visit to Beijing that was widely interpreted as a sign of a long overdue thaw in ties.

While in Beijing, Kono and his hosts exchanged promises to work together to improve relations as this year is the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, and Kono conveyed Tokyo's hope that the leaders of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea could meet.

Yet subsequent developments are a reminder that it is optimistic to think that the relationship will improve if the fundamental situation remains the same.