A new Japanese govt, but China's worries stay
- Source: Global Times
- [02:26 September 01 2009]
- Comments
Japanese voters ushered in a new chapter in the nation's politics Sunday when the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) notched a landslide victory in the Japanese lower house election, securing the position of Japanese prime minister for DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama.
The DPJ also won general elections on a theme of change. As Japan struggles with a prolonged economic recession and an aging society, voters handed the reins to a young party without a previous governance record.
If its campaign messages offer any clues, the DPJ and its leader, Hatoyama, are determined to chart a new course for Japan.
In terms of relations with China, there seem to be some positive signs that under the DPJ, bilateral relations could achieve a degree of advancement.
On the thorny history issue, the factor that regularly sours Sino-Japanese relations, Hatoyama has been clear that if elected, he would not visit the Yasukuni Shrine, which memorializes some war criminals. If this promise is honored, it can deliver the two countries from the burden of the history issue and mark a new stage of relations.
But in the past remarks of leading DPJ figures on key issues of Chinese concern, including the East China Sea, Taiwan, and Tibet, there have also been troubling messages that may snag mutual relations.
One worrying sign is that though Japan's elections are closely watched by Chinese scholars and the public, Japan does not reciprocate with a similar level of interest in China.
Past issues like the poisonous dumplings continue to haunt the Japanese public though they did not emerge as central topics of this election.
China-Japan relations remain fragile and the "economics hot, politics cold" description of ties between the two in the last decade remains fundamentally accurate.
The victory of the DPJ offers some hope, but there are reasons to remain fairly worried about the future of China-Japan relations.
The most troubling sign is the attitude of suspicion the Japanese public still holds toward China. It might not change any time soon. A recent survey revealed that 70 percent of the Japanese public does not have a good impression of China, a number that does not bode well for Japan's future China policy.
China-Japan relations will mark a historic moment when China soon surpasses Japan as the nation with the world's second largest GDP, an event the Japanese public is worried could mean their country's interests will be harmed by a rising China.
An elected official, Hatoyama will have to respond to public opinion, which does not seem to leave him much freedom to advance China-Japan relations.
