Based on extensive original research including interviews with key participants, this book examines how, following Richard Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972, Japan established formal diplomatic relations with China, doing so before the United States and other Western countries. It considers the key personalities – Prime Minister Tanaka and Foreign Minister Ōhira on the Japanese side, and Zhou Enlai on the Chinese side, outlines how the discussions unfolded, and discusses the key issues which divided the two sides and how these issues were resolved: Japanese war reparations to China, how the two countries perceived their past, how Taiwan should be treated, and possession of the Senkaku Islands. The book also shows how Tanaka and Ōhira sought to reconcile China–Japan relations with the US–Japan Security Treaty and to continue non-governmental exchanges with Taiwan following the severing of relations. Overall, the book emphasises that the nature of the relationship established in 1972 continues to be very important for understanding present day China–Japan relations.

This Silk Road paper is an analysis of four determinants which will ultimately shape the final reconciliation between Asia's two giants. The first part analyzes the tumultuous history between China and Japan over the past 3,000 years, with special emphasis on the T'ang-Nara, Yuan-Hei'an and the Qing-Meiji periods of Sino-Japanese history before the two catastrophic wars between them in 1894-95 and 1931-1945, the spectacular reconciliation of 1972 and the present-day ups and downs in contemporary politics between Beijing and Tokyo. The second part looks at how political determinants may ultimately dominate economic determinism. It is believed that although economic determinism, which is very much a part of the Western liberal thinking in conflict management and resolution, may be important to prevent conflicts, it will most probably not seal an ultimate Sino-Japanese reconciliation; political determinants will remain the ultimate key. The third part looks at how two seemingly extraneous, yet crucial issues could have an enormous impact on the future direction of Sino-Japanese rapprochement, the Korean and Taiwan issues. These two issues have been historically intertwined with the history and emotions of Sino-Japanese relations, and will continue to be so as long as these issues are not ultimately resolved. Lastly, Sino-Japanese relations must also be seen from a wider perspective of the strategic geo-political rivalry between Tokyo and Beijing in Asia and the ensuing tectonic shift of alliances in the Asia-Pacific. China's advances into Southeast Asia to the detriment of Japan, Beijing's growing tussle (concomitant cooperation and rivalry) with the United States in the world (with Japan firmly on the American side) and the place of both China and Japan in the post-Kuala Lumpur East Asia Summit held on 14 December 2005 all constitute important factors in this important tectonic shift, which would in turn also dictate the pace of an ultimate Sino-Japanese reconciliation.

"Based on extensive original research including interviews with key participants, this book examines how, following Richard Nixon's famous visit to China in 1972, Japan established formal diplomatic relations with China, doing so before the United States and other western countries. It considers the key personalities - prime minister Tanaka and foreign minister Ōhira on the Japanese side, and Zhou Enlai on the Chinese side, outlines how the discussions unfolded, and discusses the key issues which divided the two sides and how these issues were resolved: Japanese war reparations to China, how the two countries perceived their past, how Taiwan should be treated, and possession of the Senkaku Islands. The book also shows how Tanaka and Ōhira sought to reconcile China-Japanese relations with the US-Japan Security Treaty and to continue non-governmental exchanges with Taiwan following the severing of relations. Overall, the book emphasises that the nature of the relationship established in 1972 continues to be very important for understanding present day China-Japan relations"--

Sino-Japanese relations have been on the mend since Shinzo Abe assumed the Japanese Prime Minister''s office in September 2006. His visit to China in October 2006 and the reciprocal visits of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in April 2007, and President Hu Jintao in May 2008, facilitated the further thawing of bilateral relations under the framework of OC mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic relationship.OCO A substantial number of additional events have indicated the continuation of the positive trend in the strengthening of the bilateral relations.However, several issues continue to obstruct the building of long-term confidence between the two Asian giants. Despite the overall improved relations, there is very little structural thinking about how to move the Sino-Japanese relations to the next level and how to institutionalize security dialogues at the regional and international level.This book provides an overview of the current situation and also gives suggestions on what is needed to move beyond the haphazard level of cooperation in Northeast Asia, especially as the six-party talks seem to have broken down. It focuses on Chinese and Japanese perceptions of the bilateral situation, and the potential of, and need for, multilateral structures in managing the future.

Why have some former enemy countries established durable peace while others remain mired in animosity? When and how does historical memory matter in post-conflict interstate relations? Focusing on two case studies, Yinan He argues that the key to interstate reconciliation is the harmonization of national memories. Conversely, memory divergence resulting from national mythmaking harms long-term prospects for reconciliation. After WWII, Sino-Japanese and West German-Polish relations were both antagonized by the Cold War structure, and pernicious myths prevailed in national collective memory. In the 1970s, China and Japan brushed aside historical legacy for immediate diplomatic normalization. But the progress of reconciliation was soon impeded from the 1980s by elite mythmaking practices that stressed historical animosities. Conversely, from the 1970s West Germany and Poland began to de-mythify war history and narrowed their memory gap through restitution measures and textbook cooperation, paving the way for significant progress toward reconciliation after the Cold War.

Written by a team of Japanese and German scholars, this book presents an interpretation of Japanese/German history and international diplomacy. It provides a greater understanding of key aspects of the countries' bilateral relations from the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 to the parallel defeat of Germany and Japan in 1945. New research is explored on the military as well as ideological interconnections between Japan and Germany in the closing years of the nineteenth century, the First World and the development of bacteriological warfare during the Second World War. In addition, the book's focus on the Second World War significantly re-interprets two familiar axis of Japanese-German relations: the impact of Nazi ideology on Japanese "fascism", and the Axis Alliance. Drawing on German as well as Japanese archival sources, the book presents a revealing examination of a crucial period in the modern history of Western Europe and East Asia. As such it will be of huge interest to those studying the modern history of Japan/Germany, comparative and world history, international relations and political science alike.