Consensus can't be denied

It seems Japanese leaders were not serious about reaching a consensus with China, they only used it as a stepping stone towards a bilateral summit meeting, and are scrapping it now that has ended. It is time they considered the price of this petty trick: By openly denying an official agreement signed by their senior officials, the Japanese government is losing credibility in global politics. Who dares trust a Japanese diplomat anymore?

Su Xiaohui, a researcher in international strategies at the China Institute of International Studies, People's Daily overseas edition, Nov 15

As an official document jointly issued by Chinese and Japanese government, the Four-principle consensus is legally binding to both sides; it is incredible that the Japanese cabinet denies it. Maybe the Japanese cabinet means to fan the flames of Japanese nationalism and rally support for the coming election, but they do so at the cost of destroying the trustworthiness of the Japanese state.