Americans tend to forget, or underestimate, factors like some strong feelings they just don't share.
Yet after the Revolution Americans stayed angry with Britain for near a hundred years. The Great Rapprochement starting about 1895 was a tidal shift in feeling that originated almost entirely from the British side, and by their giving in on almost everything Americans wanted. Even then, it was not an easy sell, and required demonizing the Germans to close the deal.
Also about 1895 was the Sino-Japanese War, in which Japan attacked China and took Formosa (Taiwan) and Korea as a colony, and more. From Korea the Japanese engaged in constant aggression, ending only in 1945 after tens of millions of deaths including some horrors like biological warfare and the Rape of Nanking.
The Chinese remember, like Americans remembered against Britain. They remember like the Irish in America remember still against Britain.
The Chinese government did not need to manufacture the ill feelings of those riots. That is real, and Americans felt the same once even if they don't remember now.
Add to that the open hostile encirclement of China by a design that uses Japan as a key component, and you've got a relationship that is going nowhere good anytime soon.
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It seems that Xi has a strong instinct for navigating his country; so does Abe hampered by his conviction of getting shed of the memory of the defeat. They will be on a collision course if they fail to work together economically.
Japan's population should drop from 127 million today to around 70 million in fifty years. To maintain its current size of economy, per capita GDP would have to increase 1.2% per annum--not impossible, but not likely.
So think of Sweden: a nice rich country with some world class companies but hardly a threat. China's leadership knows this. So do the Koreans whose population and economy (if unified peacefully) could eclipse those of Japan. So the "bloody history" factor is disappearing from northeast Asia.
What could that mean in the face of Trump's bungling trade war? If it means TPP with Australia, Canada, Japan and China---but not the US---Putin's recent comment about the end of US hegemony may turn out to be prescient.
@MTA That means Japan shrinking to just under its population during WW2. If America did that, it would be half of today, about 150 million instead of 325 million -- just to put it in context.
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While China and Japan were bitter foes - China bitter and Japan foe - in the early 20th Century, culturally the two have been intertwined for almost two millennia. Indeed, both Chou En-lai and Chiang Kai-shek were educated in Japan.
Both Xi and Abe are nationalist at heart. The former survived the Cultural Revolution and the latter has his 2nd coming as Japan's PM. Perhaps they have certain respect for political survivors. The entanglement is huge though. Abe still advocates the whitewashing of Japanese textbook pertaining to the Sino-Japanese conflicts and Xi is likely to be indoctrinated about the atrocities, which were real. But neither is the product of the WWII era. What is more pressing is the current Asian Pacific configurations. Incidentally, Japan used to rule Taiwan as its cultural heritage remains on that island.
One thing for sure, Trump's withdrawal from TPP is a huge godsend for Xi, a lot more than paying blackmail to Putin
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@Bos -- "culturally the two have been intertwined for almost two millennia"
In Chinese eyes, that was China as the center of all, and the Japanese doing a poor quality copy of them. They felt that way all through that time, and they feel that way still.
The Chinese characters for Japanese have always meant (I'm told) roughly "barbarian pirates." I'd welcome correction from those who read those characters, but I've read that many times.
On the one hand it is not a bad thing for regional powers to have some measure of peaceful interaction. On the other hand, however, if more of a bond forms between Japan & China, the US may find itself sidelined in the most heavily populated area of the world.
One of the dumb things Trump did early on was withdraw us from the TPP. No, it was not a perfect agreement. No international agreement ever is. Yes, it was negotiated by the Obama administration (likely a strong impetus for Trump to trash it). Yet, by removing us, Trump gave up an agreement with a circle of allies leaving the others to turn to China as the largest economy available for an agreement. In essence, in insisting on binary agreements, Trump removed us from an given & set us up to compete with China for each country's business. What could have been settled is now up for grabs.
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During the vast majority of the millennium and a half that China and Japanese have enjoyed state relations, these relations have been friendly and of immense benefit to the two countries and their populations. Conflicts, such as the Yuan dynasty's two attacks on Japan more than seven centuries ago, or Hideyoshi's attempt to conquer China via Korea at the turn of the 16th century, or Japan's wars on China from the turn of the 20th century to its middle are exceptions to the rule. If Messrs Xi and Abe can move towards a rapprochement, they will contribute greatly to peace in East Asia and in the world as a whole....
Henri
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The super power among 'the quad' has to think of stretching to structure a special bond with India,Japan and Australia in
order to make China realize the presence of USA in its stone throw proximity especially in India.
Japan can't be ignored or neglected by Asian or Western
nations due its inborn dedication to outsmart scientifically
and technically in the current era of AI & Robotic horizon.
There is a silver line for 'the squad' to emerge as a powerful ally in the years to come, if USA pragmatically come forward to make its three members of 'the squad' in the UN security council and the Nuclear Supplier Group. Since the Squad is made of the matured democracies of the world, China could expand its trade volume with 'the squad' by the spirit of content to live within its recognized boundary on land and sea.
"Both sides need each other. They need to improve relations. This is a good beginning — better than a deterioration. Neither side is expecting miracles. The countries are strategic rivals. Their bloody history, dating back to World War II and before, remains a major obstacle."
Good, this is how real lasting progress is made. Not China first, not Japan first, and not everything before was the worst deal ever. May the wisdom be with these leaders.
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The title of this article makes it seem as if Japan & China should be getting along because they're both located in Asia/have Asian populations. But I feel like it'd be very weird to have the same article title with the US and a Western rival. Or even two Eastern Europe countries that don't get along.
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Two stable administrations in China and Japan are pivoting already for post-Trump era. Trump phenomena happened in the "several seconds" of time for both countries in view of the long historical relationship of the two countries.
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With such concerns in mind, Japan is enthusiastically participating in an informal, implicitly anti-China alliance with the United States, India and Australia, which has become known as “the quad.”
It would be easier to write that the 4 countries have a shared interest to reign in perceived Chinese excesses. Using the word alliance is not merited.
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@Tom
The word alliance is thrown around as thought it were meaningless.
The U.S. has separate alliances with Japan and Australia. The U.S. and India are not allies, nor are any of the three other countries besides the U.S. allies with each other.
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@Adam -- India was key to the Non-Aligned Movement, and that is still a major principle of its foreign policy. The idea of India as ally of the US would be anathema there.