1、In Need of SincerityWhile visiting Bangkok shortly after his “goodwill” trip to Beijing， Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called on the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations（ASEAN） to be united in response to Chinas “assertiveness” in the South China Sea， according to a Kyo
2、do News report. Yet， during his stay in Beijing， Kishida said Japan is willing to strengthen mutual trust， control disputes， advance the bilateral relations initiated by former leaders of the two countries， and build a futurefacing Japan-China relationship. The sharp contrast in Kishidas attitude ha
3、s greatly disappointed those who have strived to rebuild Sino-Japanese ties， leaving many wondering： Is this how Japan expects to achieve healthy bilateral relations？ In recent years， Japan has become adept at double-dealing when it comes to China. On the one hand， its top officials often call for h
4、ighlevel talks between the two sides， portraying to the world the impression that Tokyo is willing to woo Beijing while Beijing lacks goodwill. Shinzo Abes administration， meanwhile， has continuously undermined China-Japan relations by downplaying Japans history of aggression， rewriting the countrys
5、 pacifist constitution to pave the way for military expansion， and creating a so-called “security diamond” alliance in the Asia-Pacific region as a ring of encirclement to contain China. Days before his Beijing visit， Kishida said the trips purpose was to build a “new era”for China-Japan relations.
6、Yet， just prior to that statement， Prime Minister Abe arranged for an offering to be made at the infamous Yasukuni Shrine， where several of Japans most notorious war criminals are enshrined. The many visits to Yasukuni in recent years by Abe and his cabinet members， despite objections from war-victi
7、m neighboring states， have offended China and South Korea， whose peoples suffered well-documented atrocities at the hands of Japanese invaders. Furthermore， Japans superfluous involvement in the South China Sea territorial disputes is unwarranted. At the Group of Seven （G7） Foreign Ministers Meeting
8、 held in early April in Hiroshima， the host country hijacked the agenda to focus on tensions in the South China Sea despite the fact that none of the G7 members is directly concerned with the regions territorial issues. Despite such behavior， Beijing continues to exhibit a high degree of patience an
9、d tolerance toward Tokyo and looks forward to seeing the bilateral relationship change for the better. After all， the two countries have much to gain by working together instead of turning their backs on one another. As the worlds second largest economy， China fulfills an increasingly important role
10、 in global commerce and trade. And， as nations scramble to improve economic ties with China， any action that adversely affects those relations will be detrimental to the prospects of Chinas trading partners. As a typical export-oriented country， Japans economic reliance on China becomes deeper year
11、by year. China has been Japans largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. Bilateral trade volume in 2015 accounted for 21.2 percent of Japans total foreign trade， a proportion that is only likely to increase in the future in tandem with Chinas growing economic strength. Statistics also show
12、 that spending by Chinese tourists in Japan last year reached about 1.4 trillion yen（$14 billion）. The deterioration in China-Japan relations over recent years， due to the Japanese Governments failure to acknowledge and respond appropriately to Chinas core issues of concern， has directly led to Japa
13、n dropping from its status as Chinas largest trading partner for over 10 years to its current fourth-place position. The proportion of China-Japan trade in Chinas total foreign trade has declined from 15.7 percent in 2003 to just 7 percent in 2015. Given Japans currently sluggish economy and negativ
14、e growth forecasts， a continuation of frosty relations with China is obviously not in Tokyos best interests. A thaw in China-Japan relations will not come about， however， through empty rhetoric and contradictory behavior； it requires Tokyo to take concrete， affirmative action. The key problem behind
15、 the unstable relations between the two countries， as Foreign Minister Wang Yi has always noted， is Japans wrong perceptions about its history and China. How can the problem be resolved？ During talks with his Japanese counterpart， the Chinese foreign minister outlined a four-point proposal. Wang men
16、tioned that Japan should stick fast to the four political agreements between the two countries， face up to and reflect upon its history， take a more positive and healthy attitude to the growth of China， and cast aside its confrontational mentality. In summary， to set itself on a path of harmonious coexistence with China， Japan needs to mend its ways and demonstrate sincerity.
