The Liberal Democrats, Japan's ruling party, conceded a crushing defeat on August 31 as voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). And Prime Minister Taro Aso, leader of the LDP, said he was to resign as Party leader after the election defeat.
This election outcome has given a full proof of Japan's prevailing mainstream public opinions. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has ruled Japan for more than half a century since it was formed in 1955, and so the Chinese government has been acquainted with its policies toward China. The Chinese side, nevertheless, is not so familiar with the China policies of the DPJ as well as their impact on Sino-Japanese relations.
Of course, the DPJ would surely treasure the political power it had longed for many years and eventually succeeded to win, implement its election promise in developing economy and improving the people's livelihood, so as to enhance and consolidate the basis of its power.
In diplomatic arena, the new Japanese government will go on improving its ties with China and other countries under the guidance of the "idea of fraternity" Yukio Hatoyama has advocated. Since the founding of DPJ, Yukio Hatoyama, Ichiro Ozawa and other DPJ principal leaders have visited China, contacted or engaged with Chinese leaderships, and contributed positively to the betterment of bilateral ties. Yukio Hatoyama has all along given heed to Japan-China ties, and took China as the designation of his first overseas trip as leader of the DPJ.
DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama said explicitly that "Japanese militarism in modern times to China cause great suffering and deeply hurt the Chinese people." For this reason, he said, Japan should have a profound introspection and approach to the past history squarely.
Meanwhile, he himself has made it clear that if he takes the premiership, he would not visit the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. During the national election, he said he would admonish his cabinet members and senior officials to perform fairly and honestly and be incorruptible when they were in power. Yukio has once served as vice-president of the Dietmen’s League for Japan-China Friendship.
Moreover, since Sino-Japanese strategic and mutually-beneficial relations have been forged while LDP was in office, the groundwork for the further growth of the future Sino-Japanese ties is laid.
In view of immense changes taking place in the international momentum and the exterior environment, factors for enhancing Japan-China ties are on steady rise. Recalling the past history, Ichiro Hatoyama, Yukio's grandfather, was the longest post-war Japanese prime minister, and he worked hard to normalize relations with China back in 1954, but failed owing to the U.S. restraint policy during the cold war. Yuko's father, Lichiro Hatoyama, then Japanese foreign minister in the Takeo Fukuda Cabinet, held talks with China for signing the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty in 1976 but his effort suffered setback due to pressures imposed by the former Soviet Russia.
Nowadays, as the Barack Obama administration is hastening coordination and cooperation with China, and Russia is deepening its strategic coordinative partnership with China, there could be a new trend for the U.S., Japan, Russia and China to seek the improvement and enhancement of their relations simultaneously.
In term of economic and trade ties, Japan is sure to attach greater importance to China if it wants to really rid itself of its recession and seek its long-term development as China is currently substituting the U.S. for Japan's top exporting market. In term of regional cooperation, the construction of the East Asia Community Yukie Hatoyama has proposed cannot be devoid of the healthy, stable Sino-Japanese ties.
What deserves particular attention is, however, that some issues between China and Japan left by the LDP government remain today: Japanese right-wing national forces would provoke some thought on a couple of historical issues; China's separatist forces like those for "Taiwan Independence", "Tibetan independence" and "Xinjiang independence" would attempt to find their "patrons" in Japan and look for opportunities to split China; China and Japan differ in their respective stance on the Diaoyu Island, and they are yet to settle their disputes over territorial and maritime rights; the affectionate sentiments between the people of the two nations are still yet to resume, and there is still the lack of sufficient mutual political trust in the area of military security.
DPJ, a political party without a milestone around its neck, can promote and develop its fraternity and friendly, cooperative ties with China in strict compliance with four political documents signed between the two neighboring nations. Hence, Sino-Japanese relations in the years ahead would have more friendship and less friction.
By People's Daily Online and contributed by Liu Jiangyong, a specially-invited PD guest commentator and professor of international relations at the Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University in Beijing
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