Sino-Japanese relations - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

are geographically separated only by a relatively narrow stretch of ocean

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

. China has strongly influenced Japan with its writing system, architecture

Chinese architecture

Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...

, culture

Culture of China

Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...

, religion

Religion in China

Religion in China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. The Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand the exclusive adherence of members. Some scholars doubt the use of the term "religion" in reference to Buddhism and Taoism, and suggest "cultural...

, philosophy

Chinese philosophy

Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. The majority of traditional Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States era, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and...

, and law

Chinese law

Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st century, law in China has been a complex mix of traditional Chinese approaches and Western influences....

. When Western countries forced Japan to open trading in the mid-19th century, Japan moved towards modernization (Meiji Reformation), viewing China as an antiquated civilization, unable to defend itself against Western forces in part due to the Opium Wars

Opium Wars

The Opium Wars, also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars, divided into the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860, were the climax of disputes over trade and diplomatic relations between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire...

and Anglo-French Expeditions from the 1840s to the 1860s. Japan's long chain of invasions and war crimes

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

in China between 1894 and 1945 as well as modern Japan's attitude towards its past are major issues affecting current Sino-Japanese relations.

China and Japan are respectively the world's second

Economy of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China ranks since 2010 as the world's second largest economy after the United States. It has been the world's fastest-growing major economy, with consistent growth rates of around 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of...

and third

Economy of Japan

The economy of Japan, a free market economy, is the third largest in the world after the United States and the People's Republic of China, and ahead of Germany at 4th...

-largest economies. In 2008, China-Japan trade grew to $266.4 billion, a rise of 12.5 percent on 2007, making China and Japan's top two-way trade partner. China was also the biggest destination for Japanese exports in 2009.

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

The first mention of the Japanese Archipelago

Japanese Archipelago

The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...

was in the Chinese historic text Book of Later Han

Book of Later Han

The Book of the Later Han or the History of the Later Han is one of the official Chinese historical works which was compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century, using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources...

, in the year 57, in which it was noted that the Emperor

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

gave a golden seal to Wa (Japan)

Wa (Japan)

Japanese is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it, replacing it with 和 "harmony, peace, balance".- Historical references :The earliest...

. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

in the eighteenth century. From then on Japan was repeatedly recorded in Chinese historical texts, at first sporadically, but eventually continuously as Japan matured into a notable power in the region.

There is a Chinese tradition that the first Chinese Emperor

Emperor of China

, Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

, sent several hundred people to Japan to search for medicines of immortality. During the third century, Chinese travelers reported that inhabitants of Japan claimed ancestry from Wu Taibo

Wu (state)

The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...

, a king of the Wu state (located in modern Jiangsu

Jiangsu

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

) during the Warring States era. They recorded examples of Wu traditions including ritual teeth-pulling, tattooing and carrying babies on backs. Other records at the time show that Japan already had the same customs recognized today. These include clapping during prayers, eating from wooden trays and eating raw fish (also a traditional custom of Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

before pollution made this impractical). Kofun

Kofun

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...

era traditions appear in the records as the ancient Japanese built earthen mound tombs.

The first Japanese personage mentioned by the Wei Dynasty

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

is Himiko, the female shaman leader of a country with hundreds of states called Yamataikoku

Yamataikoku

or is the Sino-Japanese name of an ancient country in Wa during the late Yayoi period . The Chinese history Sanguo Zhi first recorded Yemetaiguo or Yemayiguo as the domain of shaman Queen Himiko...

. Modern historical linguists believe Yamatai was actually pronounced Yamato

Yamato

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan. Later the term was used as the name of the province and also as an ancient name of Japan...

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

During the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

and Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

, Japan sent many students on a limited number of Imperial embassies to China

Imperial embassies to China

The Japanese Missions to Imperial China were diplomatic embassies which were intermittently sent to the Chinese court. Any distinction amongst diplomatic envoys sent from the Imperial Japanese court or from any of the Japanese shogunates was lost or rendered moot when the ambassador was received in...

, to help establish its own footing as a sovereign nation in northeast Asia. After the fall of the Korean confederated kingdom of Baekje (with whom Japan was closely allied) to combined Tang and Silla forces, Japan was forced to seek out the Chinese state on its own, which in those times was a treacherous undertaking, thus limiting the successes of Japanese overseas contacts during this time.

Important elements brought back from China (and some which were transmitted through Baekje to Japan) included Buddhist teachings, Chinese customs and culture, bureaucracy, architecture and city planning. The Japanese kimono is very similar to the clothing of the Tang Dynasty, and many historians believe that the Japanese started wearing robes like what Tang royalty wore, eventually adapting the garb to match Japanese culture. The capital city of Kyoto was also planned according to Feng Shui
Feng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....

elements from the Chinese capital of Chang'an. During the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

became one of the major religions, alongside Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

.

The use of Chinese model of Imperial government ceased by the tenth century, overtaken by traditional Japanese clan and family rivalries (Soga-Mononobe, Taira-Minamoto).

First China-Japanese battle

In AD 663 the Battle of Baekgang

Battle of Baekgang

The Battle of Baekgang, also known as Battle of Baekgang-gu or by the Japanese name Battle of Hakusukinoe , was a battle between Baekje restoration forces and their ally, Yamato Japan, against the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty of ancient China...

took place, the first China-Japanese conflict in recorded history. The battle was part of the ancient relationships between the Korean Three Kingdoms (Samguk or Samhan

Samhan

The Samhan period of Korean history comprises confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula, during the final century BCE and the early centuries CE....

), the Japanese Yamato, and Chinese dynasties. The battle itself came near the conclusion of this period with the fall of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, one of the Samguk or three Korean kingdoms, coming on the heels of this battle.

The background of the battle involves Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

(one of the Korean kingdoms) trying to dominate the Korean Peninsula by forging an alliance with the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

, who were trying to defeat Koguryo, an ongoing conflict that dated back to the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

. At the time, Koguryo was allied to Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, the third major Korean kingdom. Yamato Japan supported Baekje earnestly with 30,000 troops and sending Abe no Hirafu

Abe no Hirafu

was a governor of Koshi Province. He fought against the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan . This was in 658...

, a seasoned general who fought the Ainu

Ainu people

The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

in campaigns in eastern and northern Japan. As part of Silla's efforts to conquer Baekje, the battle of Baekgang was fought between Tang China, Baekje, Silla, and Yamato Japan.

The battle itself was a catastrophic defeat for the Yamato forces. Some 300 Yamato vessels were destroyed by a combined Silla-Tang fleet of half the number of ships, and thus the aid to Baekje from Yamato could not help on the land, having been defeated at sea. Baekje fell shortly thereafter, in the same year.

Once Baekje was defeated, both Silla and Tang focused on the more difficult opponent, Koguryo, and Koguryo fell in 668 AD. For the most part, Silla, having been rivals with Baekje, also was hostile to Yamato Japan, which was seen as a brother state to Baekje, and this policy continued (with one pause between roughly AD 670-730) after Silla united most of what is now Korea and repelled Tang China from what is now the Korean peninsula. Yamato Japan was left isolated for a time and found itself having to forge ties with mainland Asia on its own, having had the most safe and secure pathway obstructed by a hostile Silla.

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Marine trades between China and Japan are well recorded, and many Chinese artifacts could be excavated. Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

and Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

sometimes played the role of middleman, while direct commercial links between China and Japan flourished.

After 663 (with the fall of allied Baekje) Japan had no choice (in the face of hostility from Silla, which was temporarily deferred in the face of Tang imperialism - as Tang imperialism posed a threat both to Japan and unified Silla - but resumed in after 730 or so) but to directly trade with the Chinese dynasties. At first the Japanese had little long-range seafaring expertise of their own but eventually (some suggest with the aid of Baekje expatriates who fled their country when it fell) the Japanese improved their naval prowess as well as the construction of their ships.

The ports of Ningbo

Ningbo

Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...

and Hangzhou

Hangzhou

Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...

had the most direct trading links to Japan and had Japanese residents doing business. Besides Korea during the Korean Three Kingdoms period (i.e. roughly AD 300-670), the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

, once subjugated by the Japanese crown, also served as a stopover for China-Japanese trading. Commodities included fine porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

, sandalwood

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...

, tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

and silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

. As a result of the close proximity to China (especially Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

), Kyushu

Kyushu

and Ryukyu Island (then independent from Japan) traditions have Chinese influences in addition to influences from Baekje. Kagoshima and Okinawa cuisine have a dish called "kakuni" which is the same as "Dongpo pork" from Hangzhou

Hangzhou

: stewed pork in sugar, rice vinegar

Rice vinegar

Rice vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented rice or rice wine in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.-Chinese:Chinese rice vinegars are stronger than Japanese ones, and range in colour from clear to various shades of red and brown...

, ginger and soy sauce. Fried fish or meatballs (such as Satsuma age

Satsuma age

is a fried fishcake from Kagoshima, Japan. MSG may be added. Surimi and flour is mixed to make a compact paste that is solidified through frying. It is a specialty of the Satsuma region. It is known as chikiagi in Okinawa.- Outline :...

) are also traditionally from Southern China (mainly Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

and Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

). Noodle dishes (such as Hakata Ramen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

) and clay-pot casseroles are also Chinese influences. Okinawan palaces and dress show Chinese color styles, which use red, green, blue and gold adorned with mythical animals as opposed to naturalistic and simplistic traditional Japanese designs.

Direct trade with China was limited by the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

after 1633, when Japan decided to close all direct links with the foreign world. Some trading was conducted by the Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...

of Satsuma province through the Ryukyu Islands. Significant trading between China and Japan did not resume until the twentieth century, well into the modern age

Modern Age

Modern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Japanese pirates (or Wokou) were a constant problem, not only for China and Korea, but also for Japanese society, from the thirteenth century until Hideyoshi's failed invasions of Korea at the end of the sixteenth century. Japanese pirates were often from the undesirable parts of Japanese society, and the Japanese were just as happy to be (for the most part) rid of them as they were raiding more prosperous shores (at the time, Japan was ravaged by civil wars, and so while Korea, China, and the Mongol Empire were enjoying relative peace, prosperity, and wealth, the Japanese were upon hard times).

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

was one of the three unifiers of Japan (Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

were the others). After subduing the Mōri

Mori clan

The Mōri clan was a family of daimyō, descended from Ōe no Hiromoto and established themselves in Aki Province. Their name was derived from a shōen in Mōri, Aikō District, Sagami Province. The generation of Hiromoto began to name themselves Mōri.After the Jōkyū War, Mōri was appointed to the jitō...

and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

s, Hideyoshi had the dream of eventually conquering China but needed to cross through Korea.

When Hideyoshi received refusals to his demands by Korea to cross the country to Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

China, he invaded Korea. In the first year of invasion in 1592, the Japanese reached as far as Manchuria under Kato Kiyomasa

Kato Kiyomasa

was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...

and fought the Jianzhou Jurchens

Jianzhou Jurchens

The Jianzhou Jurchens were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were the southernmost group of the Jurchen people The Jianzhou Jurchens (Chinese:建州女真) were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were the...

. King Seonjo requested aid from the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

, but since Japanese advances were so fast, only small Ming forces were initially committed. Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...

, who garrisoned in Pyongyang in winter 1592, first encountered and defeated a force of 5,000 Chinese soldiers. In 1593, greater Chinese participation under General Li Rusong

Li Rusong

Li Ru-song was a Chinese general of Ming empire who is from the town of Tieling , LiaoDong Li Ru-song (1549–1598) was a Chinese general of Ming empire who is from the town of Tieling (Chinese:鐵嶺衛), LiaoDong Li Ru-song (1549–1598) was a Chinese general of Ming empire who is from the town of...

with an army of 45,000 took Pyongyang with artillery and drove the Japanese to the south, but the Japanese counterattacked at Pyokjekwan.

As it turned out, the Japanese were unable to keep their supply lines clear and the Korean navy, under the command of Yi Sun-shin, was able to cut off supply lines between Japan and Korea frequently, eventually causing the Japanese forces in Korea to stall for lack of supplies. By 1593, it was clear to all that the Japanese forces would be unable to continue with their advance under the conditions, and the Japanese, for the most part, retreated into a few strongholds they still controlled on the Korean mainland.

After 1593, there was a truce of about four years. During that time, Ming granted Hideyoshi the title as "King of Japan" as withdrawal conditions, but Hideyoshi felt it insulted the Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

and demanded concessions including the daughter of the Wanli

Wanli

Wanli may refer to:* Wanli Emperor , Chinese emperor of the Ming Dynasty* Wanli District , district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China* Wanli District, New Taipei , a district in New Taipei City, Republic of China...

emperor. Further relations soured and war reignited. The second invasion was far less successful for Hideyoshi. The Chinese and Koreans were much more prepared and quickly confined and besieged the Japanese in the south until they were finally driven to the sea and defeated by the Korean admiral Yi Sun Shin. The invasion was a failure but severely damaged the Korean cities, culture and countryside with huge civilian casualties (the Japanese massacred civilians in captured Korean cities). The invasions also drained Ming China's treasury and left it weak against the Manchus, who eventually destroyed the Ming Dynasty and created the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

in 1644.

Afterwards, Japan, under the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

adopted a policy of isolationism until forced open by Commodore Perry in the 1850s.

1868–1945

After the arrival of Commodore Perry and the forced opening of Japan

Japan

to western trading, Japan realized it needed to modernize to avoid the humiliation of China during the Opium Wars

Opium Wars

. Anti-Tokugawa tozama

Tozama

A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...

from the Shimazu

Shimazu clan

and Mori

Mori

Mori is a Japanese and Italian surname. In Japanese, Mori may also be a given name. It is also the name of two clans in Japan, and one in India.-Italian persons named Mori:*Cesare Mori, Italian "Iron Prefect"...

clans overthrew the bakufu during the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

and restored the Japanese Emperor as head of state. Afterwards, military and government positions were taken by Mori and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

members who institutionalized rapid modernization, militarization and imperialism based on Western countries. The first countries to feel Japanese Imperialism were China and Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

.

Friction between China and Japan

Japan

arose from Japan's control over the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

from 1870, annexation of Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

after the First Sino-Japanese war

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

of 1894. China was almost forced to cede more territory in Manchuria but was saved by Russian intervention. Despite this, China still paid a huge indemnity and relinquished Taiwan. During the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

, Japanese troops beheaded and executed many Chinese civilians in Liaoning and Manchuria after capturing cities, such as Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

, but treated Russian prisoners with respect. Japanese troops participated in the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

in 1900 at the Siege of the International Legations (Boxer Rebellion), Seymour Expedition, Battle of Tientsin

Battle of Tientsin

The Battle of Tientsin, or the Relief of Tientsin, occurred on July 13–14, 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China. A multinational military force, representing the Eight-Nation Alliance, came to the rescue of a besieged population of foreign nationals within the city of Tientsin by...

, Gasalee Expedition

Gasalee Expedition

The Gaselee Expedition was a successful relief by a multi-national military force to march to Beijing and protect the diplomatic legations and foreign nationals in the city from attacks in 1900. The expedition was part of the war of the Boxer Rebellion....

, Battle of Beitang

Battle of Beitang

The Battle of Beitang, during the Boxer Rebellion, was fought on September 20, 1900 between the Eight Nation Alliance and the Chinese army.-Battle:Beitang is located to Tianjin's north...

and Battle of Beicang

Battle of Beicang

The Battle of Beicang , during the Boxer Rebellion, was fought August 5, 1900 between the Eight Nation Alliance and the Chinese army. The Chinese army was forced out of its prepared entrenchments and retreated to Yangcun. The Eight-Nation Alliance army at Beicang consisted of Japanese, Russian,...

. The Chinese were again forced to pay another huge indemnity to Japan, but Japan was pressured to accept much less by the U.S. Rivalries between the imperialist Western nations and Japan prevented China from being carved up into many colonies. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the Japanese attacked and occupied the German colony in Qingdao

Battle of Tsingtao

The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....

. The Japanese also issued the infamous Twenty-one Demands

Twenty-One Demands

The ' were a set of demands made by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu sent to the nominal government of the Republic of China on January 18, 1915, resulting in two treaties with Japan on May 25, 1915.- Background :...

in 1915. After World War I, China felt betrayed by the Allied countries as China was an Allied nation but was forced to give territory in Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

to Japan and accept the Twenty-one Demands. This culminated in the May Fourth Movement

May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...

. However, Japanese imperialistic aims steadily increased over the 1920s, focusing on Manchuria.
In the beginning of the Showa era, the Japanese wanted to occupy Manchuria for its resources, but the powerful warlord, Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...

stood in their way. His train was bombed by Japanese agents in 1928. In 1931, Japan

Japan

fully occupied Manchuria and created a new state called Manchukoku (Manchukuo

Manchukuo

Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

), after a series of incidents culminating in the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....

and came to full scale invasion of China in July 1937. Japan was soon able to gain control over all Chinese outlying territories.
The period between the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

in 1931 and the official beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

in 1937 involved constant regional armed resistance to Japanese advances in Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...

and North China

North China

thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....

, and Nanjing's efforts in stopping further encroachments through diplomatic negotiations. This era was turbulent for the Chinese Nationalists

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

, as it was mired in a civil war with the Chinese Communists and maintained an uneasy truce with remnant warlord

Warlord

A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...

s, who nominally aligned with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

(Jiang Jieshi), following the Northern Expedition. This period also saw the Chinese Nationalists' pursuit in modernizing its National Revolutionary Army

National Revolutionary Army

The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...

, through the assistance of Soviet, and later German, advisors.

The Japanese invaded Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

after accusing the Chinese Second United Front troops of shooting at Marco Polo Bridge. This marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

. Chinese nationalist aircraft then bombed Japanese positions in Shanghai and marked the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai

Battle of Shanghai

The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...

. Afterwards, the Japanese advanced and faced little resistance as the best Chinese troops were sacrificed in Shanghai. Japanese troops massacred Chinese prisoners of war (considered shameful by Japanese Bushido

Bushido

, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...

) and civilians over the course of two months during the Rape of Nanking

Nanking Massacre

The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...

. Actual numbers of killed vary according to Chinese or Japanese sources. Chinese sources accept 300,000 or more killed.

The war became a struggle of attrition after 1940 as major Chinese forces were exhausted. After the USA involved itself in the World War II, the Chinese received more supplies, but Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

hoarded the money and weapons to fight the Communists after the Americans defeated Japan. Due to this, Japanese troops were able to make advances in China as late as 1944 and 1945 during Operation Ichi-Go. After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Japanese-occupied Manchuria, the Japanese finally surrendered

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

.

The Republic of China (ROC) administrated Taiwan

Taiwan

after Japan's unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...

in 1945, following decision of the Allied Powers at the Cairo Conference

Cairo Conference

The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...

in 1943. The ROC moved its central government to Taiwan in December 1949. Later, no formal transfer of the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan to the PRC was made in the post-war San Francisco Peace Treaty, and these arrangements were confirmed in the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

concluded by the ROC and Japan

Japan

in 1952. At the time, the Taiwanese authorities (the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang

Kuomintang

(KMT)) were recognized by Japan, not communist China (the People's Republic of China, or PRC). As such, the KMT did not accept Japanese reparations only in the name of the ROC government. Later, the PRC also refused reparations in the 1970s. See more details in the section about World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

reparations and the statement by Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

, also known as , is a war apology statement made by Tomiichi Murayama, then Prime Minister of Japan, on August 15, 1995. It stated that:The statement was based on a which requires unanimous approval from the Cabinet members, has been carried forth by successive administrations, and is often...

(August, 1995).

1950s

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

(PRC) in 1949, relations with Japan

Japan

changed from hostility and an absence of contact to cordiality and extremely close cooperation in many fields. Japan was defeated and Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...

power dismantled, but the PRC continued to view Japan as a potential threat because of the United States Forces Japan

United States Forces Japan

The refers to the various divisions of the United States Armed Forces that are stationed in Japan. Under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, the United States is obliged to defend Japan in close cooperation with the Japan Self-Defense Forces for...

's presence there. One of the recurring PRC's concerns in Sino-Japanese relations has been the potential remilitarization of Japan. On the other hand, some Japanese fear that the economic and military power of the PRC has been increasing (cf. Potential superpowers#China).

The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance included the provision that each side would protect the other from an attack by "Japan or any state allied with it" and the PRC undoubtedly viewed with alarm Japan's role as the principal US military base during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

signed in 1951 also heightened the discouragement of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Japan pushed dissension between the two countries even further by concluding a peace treaty with the PRC and establishing diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese authorities.

Like most western nations at the time, Japan

Japan

had recognized Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

as the sole legitimate Chinese government. Initially, neither country allowed its political differences to stand in the way of broadening unofficial contacts, and in the mid-1950s they exchanged an increasing number of cultural, labor, and business delegations.

Although all these things complicated the relationship between the two countries, Beijing

Beijing

orchestrated relations with Japanese non-governmental organizations (NGO) through primarily the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA). The CPIFA would receive Japanese politicians from all parties, but the Japanese left-wing parties were more interested in the PRC's initiatives. In 1952, the Chinese Commission for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) was able to get a trade agreement signed by the Japanese Diet

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

members. Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to foreign affairs, most prominently president of the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute,...

, the deputy director of the State Council's Office of Foreign Affairs, was able to arrange many other agreements "such as the repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war with the Japanese Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross

The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...

(1954), and the Fishery Agreement with the Japan-China Fishery Association (1955)." Although during this time, the relationship between the two countries were primarily unofficial, the agreements were essential in bringing together a more amalgamated environment.

The PRC began a policy of attempting to influence the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

through trade, "people's diplomacy", contacts with Japanese opposition political parties, and through applying pressure on Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

to sever ties with Taipei. In 1958, however, the PRC suspended its trade with Japan—apparently convinced that trade concessions were ineffective in achieving political goals. Thereafter, in a plan for improving political relations, the PRC requested that the Japanese government not be hostile toward it, not obstruct any effort to restore normal relations between itself and Japan, and not join in any conspiracy to create two Chinas. After the Sino-Soviet break

Sino-Soviet split

In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...

, economic necessity caused the PRC to reconsider and revitalize trade ties with Japan.

1960s

The Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

suddenly withdrew Soviet experts from the PRC in the 1960s, which resulted in an economic dilemma for the PRC. The PRC was left with few options, one of which was to have a more official relationship with Japan

Japan

.

Tatsunosuke Takashi, member of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

(LDP) and of the Diet and Director of the Economic Planning Agency of the Japanese, went to the PRC in order to sign a memorandum that would further the trade relations between the two countries, better known as the Liao-Takasaki Agreement. Under its terms, Chinese purchases of industrial plants were to be financed partly through medium-term credits from Japan Export-Import Bank

Japan Bank for International Cooperation

The , also known by its acronym, JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency, and was created on October 1, 1999, through the merging of the Japan Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund ....

(JEXIM). The accord also permitted the PRC to open a trade mission in Tokyo

Tokyo

and in 1963 paved the way for Japanese government approval of the export to mainland China of a synthetic textile manufacturing plant valued at around US$ 20 million, guaranteed by the bank. Subsequent protest from the ROC caused Japan to shelve further deferred-payment plant exports. The PRC reacted to this change by downgrading its Japan trade and intensified propaganda attacks against Japan as a "running dog" (Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

:"走狗") of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Sino-Japanese ties declined again during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

, and the decline was further exacerbated by Japan

Japan

's growing strength and independence from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in the late 1960s. The PRC was especially concerned that Japan might remilitarize to compensate for the reduced US military presence in Asia

United States Pacific Command

The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...

brought about under president Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

. As the turmoil subsided, however, the Japanese government– already under pressure both from the pro-Beijing factions in the LDP and from opposition elements– sought to adopt a more forward posture.

1970s

Kawashima says:

Various arguments have been presented for applying the European model to Asia, bringing about an Asian balance of power
Balance of power in international relations
In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. The concept describes a state of affairs in the international system and explains the behavior of states in that system...

by weaving a network of alliances, ententes, or so-called strategic relationships among major players, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.
Particularly notable is the emergence of a new school of thought in Japan that stresses the importance to Japan of having better relations with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

as a counterforce to China. That strategy certainly is a product of the end of the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, and it reflects the sense of uncertainty and anxiety among the Japanese about China’s future course, given the country’s sheer size and robust economic growth, as well as the fact that a considerable portion of the fruit of that growth is allocated for defense.

In December 1971, the Chinese and Japanese trade liaison offices began to discuss the possibility of restoring diplomatic trade relations, and in July 1972, Tanaka Kakuei succeeded Sato Eisaku as a new Japanese Prime Minister. Tanaka assumed a normalization of the Sino-Japanese relations. Furthermore, the 1972 Nixon visit to China

1972 Nixon visit to China

U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, who at that time considered the U.S. one...

encouraged the normalization process. His visit to Beijing

Beijing

culminated in the signing a joint statement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

The Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China was signed in Beijing on September 29, 1972. This established diplomatic relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China and resulted in the severing of official relations between Japan...

on September 29, 1972. It established diplomatic relations between Japan and the PRC. In a point of Chinese view, an impressive compromise was attained. The Japanese agreed to most of the PRC’s demands, including the political status of Taiwan

Political status of Taiwan

The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...

. Subsequently, the bilateral economic relationships grow rapidly: 28 Japanese and 30 Chinese economic and trade missions visited their partner country.

The joint communiqué says:

The abnormal state of affairs that has hitherto existed between Japan and the People's Republic of China is terminated on the date on which this Joint Communique is issued.

The Government of Japan recognizes that Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China.

The Government of the People's Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Postsdam Proclamation
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

.

The Government of Japan and the Government of People's Republic of China have decided to establish diplomatic relations as from September 29, 1972. The two Governments have decided to take all necessary measures for the establishment and the performance of the functions of each other's embassy in their respective capitals in accordance with international law and practice, and to exchange ambassadors as speedily as possible.

The Government of the People's Republic of China declares that in the interest of the friendship between the Chinese and the Japanese peoples, it renounces its demand for war reparation from Japan.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China agree to establish relations of perpetual peace and friendship between the two countries on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. The two Governments confirm that, in conformity with the foregoing principles and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Japan and China shall in their mutual relations settle all disputes by peaceful means and shall refrain from the use or threat of force.

The normalization of relations between Japan and China is not directed against any third country. Neither of the two countries should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region and each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to solidifying and developing the relations of peace and friendship between the two countries, the two Governments will enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace and friendship.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to further promoting relations between the two countries and to expanding interchanges of people, the two Governments will, as necessary and taking account of the existing non-governmental arrangements, enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding agreements concerning such matters as trade, shipping, aviation, and fisheries.

Negotiations for a Sino-Japanese peace and friendship treaty began in 1974, but soon broken off in September 1975. The PRC insisted the anti-hegemony

Hegemony

Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...

clause, which was directed at the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, be included in the treaty. Japan objected the clause and did not wish to get involved in the Sino-Soviet split

Sino-Soviet split

.

However, the death of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

in 1976 brought economic reform to the PRC, which led to the expected Japanese investment in the Chinese economy.

In February 1978, a long-term private trade agreement led to an arrangement by which trade between Japan

Japan

and the PRC would increase to a level of US$20 billion by 1985, through exports from Japan of plants and equipment, technology, construction materials, and machine parts in return for coal and crude oil. This long-term plan, which gave rise to inflated expectations, proved overly ambitious and was drastically cut back the following year as the PRC was forced to reorder its development priorities and scale down its commitments. However, the signing of the agreement reflected the wish on both sides to improve relations.

In April 1978, a dispute over the territoriality of the Senkaku Islands

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

(or Diaoyu Islands), a cluster of barren islets north of Taiwan

Taiwan

and south of the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

flared up and threatened to disrupt the developing momentum toward resuming peace treaty talks. Restraint on both sides led to a resolution.

Talks on the peace treaty were resumed in July, and the agreement was reached in August on a compromise version of the anti-hegemony clause. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China was concluded on August 12, 1978.- See also :* Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China* Sino-Japanese relations...

was signed on August 12 and came into effect October 23, 1978, under the two leaders of Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

and Fukuda Takeo.

1980s

A "Golden Age" marked by the development of complementary interests flourished from the 1980s to the mid-1990s. Sino-Japanese relations made considerable progress in the 1980s.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...

, visited Japan in November 1983, and Prime Minister Nakasone reciprocated by visiting the PRC in March 1984. While Japanese enthusiasm for the Chinese market reached highs and lows, broad strategic considerations in the 1980s steadied Tokyo

Tokyo

's policy toward Beijing. In fact, Japan's heavy involvement in the PRC's economic modernization reflected in part a determination to encourage peaceful domestic development in the PRC, to draw the PRC into gradually expanding links with Japan and the West, and to reduce the PRC's interest in returning to its more provocative foreign policies of the past.

Many of Japan's concerns about the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

duplicated PRC's worries. They included the increased deployment in East Asia of Soviet armaments, the growth of the Soviet Pacific fleet, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet war in Afghanistan

The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...

and the potential threat it posed to Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

oil supply routes, and an increased Soviet military presence in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. In response, Japan and the PRC adopted notable complementary foreign policies, designed to isolate the Soviet Union and its allies politically and to promote regional stability.

In Southeast Asia, both countries provided strong diplomatic backing for the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...

(ASEAN) to bring about a Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. Japan cut off all economic aid to Vietnam and provided substantial economic assistance to Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

to help with resettling Indochinese refugees. The PRC was a key supporter of Thailand and of the Cambodian resistance groups.

In Southwest Asia, both nations backed the condemnation of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan; they refused to recognize the Soviet-backed Kabul regime, and sought through diplomatic and economic means to bolster Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

In Northeast Asia, Japan

Japan

and the PRC sought to moderate the behavior of their Korean partners, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

and North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

, to reduce tensions. In 1983 both the PRC and Japan strongly criticized the Soviet proposal to redeploy some of their armaments to Asia.

Japan encountered a number of episodes of friction with the PRC during the rest of the 1980s. In 1982, a serious political controversy was aroused over a revision of Japanese history textbooks dealing with the war between China and Japan during 1931-45 (cf. Japanese history textbook controversies

Japanese history textbook controversies

Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...

). In late 1985, Chinese officials complained harshly about Prime Minister Nakasone's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...

, which commemorates Japanese soldiers who had died in service of the Emperor some of whom are war criminals

War crime

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

. See also China Internet information centre: the issue of Guanghualiao.

Under Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, the Japanese government reemphasized the relationship to the United States. The U.S. strategic emphasis upon East Asia allegedly shifted the PRC to Japan in 1983. Beijing

Beijing

felt isolation and concerning anew about possible revival of Japanese militarism

Japanese militarism

refers to the ideology in the Empire of Japan that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation.-Rise of militarism :...

. By the mid-1983, Beijing had decided coincidentally with its decision to improve relations with the Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

administration of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

to solidify ties with Japan.

Economic issues centered on Chinese complaints that the influx of Japanese products into the PRC had produced a serious trade deficit for the PRC. Nakasone and other Japanese leaders tried to relieve above concerns during visits to Beijing

Beijing

and in other talks with Chinese officials. They assured the Chinese of Japan's continued large-scale development and commercial assistance, and to obstruct any Sino-Soviet realignment against Japan.

At the popular level in the PRC, it was not easy to allay concerns. Student led demonstrations against Japan (cf. Anti-Japanese sentiment in China

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China is an issue with modern roots . Modern anti-Japanese sentiment in China is often rooted in nationalist or historical conflict, particularly in Japan's Japanese history textbook controversies....

), on the one hand, helped reinforce Chinese officials' warnings to their Japanese counterparts. On the other hand, it was more difficult to change popular opinion in the PRC than it was to change the opinions of the Chinese officials.

Meanwhile, the removal of the General Secretary of the CPC, Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang

, in 1987 was detrimental to smooth Sino-Japanese relations because Hu had built personal relationships with Nakasone and other Japanese leaders. The PRC government's harsh crackdown on pro-democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

demonstrations in the spring of 1989 caused Japanese policymakers to realize that the new situation in the PRC was extremely delicate and required careful handling to avoid Japanese actions that would push the PRC further away from reforms. Beijing

Beijing

leaders reportedly judged at first that the industrialized countries would relatively quickly resume normal business with the PRC after a brief period of complaint over the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...

. When that did not happen, the PRC officials made strong suggestions to Japanese officials that they break from most industrialized nations by pursuing normal economic intercourse with the PRC, consistent with Tokyo

Tokyo

's long-term interests in mainland China. Japanese leaders like West European and U.S. leaders were careful not to isolate the PRC and continued trade and other relations generally consistent with the policies of other industrialized democracies. But they also followed the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

lead in limiting economic relations to the PRC.

1990s

Bilateral structural change developed during the late 1990s to 2004. Japan had been investing in the PRC during the early 1990s, and trade decreased during the late 1990s, but resurged at the millennium. The resurgence might have been because of the prospect of the PRC becoming a part of the World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

(WTO).

2000s

By 2001 China’s international trade was the sixth-largest in the world; and over the next several years it was expected to be just under Japan, the fourth largest.

Today, Japan

Japan

is beginning to invest in the PRC less; a growing movement to cease Official development assistance

Official development assistance

Official development assistance is a term compiled by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure aid. The DAC first compiled the term in 1969. It is widely used by academics and journalists as a convenient indicator of...

(ODA) support is beginning to flourish within the Japanese public. Many argue that Japan should cease aid to the PRC for two major reasons:

It effectively subsidizes the PRC's military
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

build-up to give economic assistance to the PRC, which increasingly threatens Japan’s security.
It helps the PRC to give assistance to many other developing countries, particularly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and there is no need to assist any country that can afford to assist others.

Those who argue against cutting developmental on support to the PRC note that by aiding the PRC, the Chinese government is more likely to play by the rules of the international system, and that aid is an atonement for Japan's pre-war and World War II

World War II

damage . Tension erupted periodically over trade and technology issues. The PRC concern over potential Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

resurgence and controversy regarding Japan's relations with Taiwan

Taiwan

2005–2010

In early 2005, Japan and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

had issued a joint statement which "encourages the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait

Political status of Taiwan

through dialogue". The PRC was angered by the statement, and protested the interference in its internal affairs. The Anti-Secession Law was passed by the third conference of the 10th National People's Congress

National People's Congress

The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...

of the PRC, and was ratified in March 2005, and then the law went into effect immediately. Subsequently, anti-Japanese demonstrations took place simultaneously in the PRC and other Asian countries.

However, the "warm" relationship between the PRC and Japan has been revived by two Japanese Prime Ministers, Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe

was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...

and particularly Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....

whose father achieved to conclude the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. In May 2008, Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...

was the first Chinese President in over a decade to be invited to Japan on an official visit, and called for increased "co-operation" between the two countries. A "forth" joint statement by President Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda read:

"The two sides resolved to face history squarely, advance toward the future, and endeavor with persistence to create a new era of a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" between Japan and China. They announced that they would align Japan-China relations with the trends of international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...

and together forge a bright future for the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

region and the world while deepening mutual understanding, building mutual trust, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between their nations in an ongoing fashion into the future".

In October 2008, Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro visited Beijing for celebrating the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. At the reception, he remarked on his "personal conviction regarding Japan-China relations":

"We should not constrain ourselves in the name of friendship between Japan and China. Rather, sound competition and active cooperation will constitute a true "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests." Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

said, "At thirty, I stood firm." In the same way, Japan and China must now stand atop the international stage and work to spread to the rest of the world this spirit of benefiting together".

2010 Trawler collision

On September 7, 2010, after a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, the captain of the trawler, Zhan Qixiong, was arrested by Japanese sailors, sparking tensions. Some media outlets speculated that China's contemporary reduction of export quotas of rare earth metals, now more in demand in China as its high-tech industry develops

Economy of the People's Republic of China

, including reduction to Japan, could be related to the dispute. Although officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation is an executive agency of the State Council of China...

denied such a relationship, the Japanese government took this action by China as a de facto trade embargo and decided to set aside 53.3 billion yen for the following measures to reduce dependence on Chinese mineral resources:

Development of rare earth minerals abroad 19.7
Recycling, urban mining and developing alternative technology by the government and the private sector 1.6
Developing offshore oil and gas in Japan 16.3
Pre-feasibility study on methane hydrate deposits 8.9
Study on cobalt rich crust and other undersea reserves 6.8 (Cobalt rich crusts are undersea mineral deposits that contain manganese, cobalt, nickel and platinum, as well as rare earths such as neodymium and dysprosium.)

2011 Japanese White Paper

In 2011, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu criticized the annual Japanese defense white paper for calling attention to the "China threat theory".

Bilateral sensitive issues

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC points out some sensitive issues between Japan and the PRC:

Issue of history
Issue of Taiwan
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...
Issue of Senkaku Islands
Issue of Japanese-American security co-operation
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...
Issue of war reparations
Japanese chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

discarded in China

As Iechika and many others point out, the fundamental concerns of the Sino-Japanese relations has been the issues of history and Taiwan

Taiwan

. Therefore, this article describes the above two issues in the following.

Issue of history

The PRC joined other Asian countries, such as South Korea

South Korea

, North Korea

North Korea

and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, in criticizing Japanese history textbooks that whiten Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...

in World War II

World War II

. They claimed that the rise of militarism

Militarism

Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....

became evident in Japanese politics. Much anti-Japanese sentiment

Anti-Japanese sentiment

Anti-Japanese sentiment involves hatred, grievance, distrust, dehumanization, intimidation, fear, hostility, and/or general dislike of the Japanese people and Japanese diaspora as ethnic or national group, Japan, Japanese culture, and/or anything Japanese. Sometimes the terms Japanophobia and...

has raised, and this has been exacerbated by burgeoning feelings of Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...

and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...

's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

. Although Koizumi openly declared– in a statement made on April 22, 2005 in Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

– "deep remorse" over Japan

Japan

's wartime crimes (the latest in a series of apologies spanning several decades), many Chinese observers regard the apology as insufficient and not backed up by sincere action.

There also remains the dispute over the Senkaku Islands

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

(Diaoyu Islands), which has resulted in clashes between Taiwanese (Chinese) protesters and the Japanese government. The latest disputes, in April 2005, have led to anti-Japanese protests and sporadic violence across the PRC, from Beijing

Beijing

to Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, later Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

and Shenyang

Shenyang

Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...

.

Furthermore, the PRC and Japan

Japan

continually debate over the actual numbers killed in the Rape of Nanking. The PRC allege at least 300,000 civilians were murdered while Japan argues it to be far less ranging from 40,000-200,000. While a majority of Japanese believe in the existance of the massacre; a Japanese

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

-produced documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

released just prior to the 60th anniversary of the massacre, titled The Truth about Nanjing
The Truth about Nanjing
is a forthcoming film by Japanese filmmaker about the 1937 Nanking Massacre.The film, backed by nationalistic figures including Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara and public donation, is intended to expose alleged propaganda aspects of the Nanking Massacre...

, denies that any such atrocities took place. These disputes have stirred up enmity against Japan from the global Chinese community, including Taiwan

Taiwan

Japan's compensation

One of the many factors contributing to the bankruptcy of the Qing government was the requirement for the payment of war reparations. During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, the Chinese continually paid huge amounts of silver to Japan

Japan

. Japan was a recipient of compensation as a result of the outcome of many treaties, including the Sino-Japan Amity Treaty (1871), Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

The Treaty of Shimonoseki , known as the Treaty of Maguan in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895...

(1895), the Triple Intervention

Triple Intervention

The was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed between Japan and Qing dynasty China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War.-Treaty of Shimonoseki:...

(1895) and the Boxer Protocol

Boxer Protocol

The Boxer Protocol was signed on September 7, 1901 between the Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces plus Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands after China's defeat in the intervention to put down the Boxer Rebellion at the hands of the...

(1901).

After the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

in 1894-95, according to the Chinese scholar, Jin Xide, the Qing government paid a total of 340,000,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

for both reparations and "booty", equivalent to (then) 510,000,000 Japanese yen, or about 6.4 times the annual revenue of the government of Japan. Similarly, the Japanese scholar, Ryoko Iechika, calculated that the Qing government paid total $21,000,000 (about one third of revenue of the Qing government) in war reparations to Japan, or about 320,000,000 Japanese yen, equivalent to (then) two and half years of Japanese government revenue. The payments from the Qing government were used by Japan for expansion of its Navy (38.2% of the payment), ad hoc military expenditures (21.6%), direct expansion of the Army (15.6%), and development of naval battleships (8.2%).

On 3 September 1995, Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...

, the core-leader of the third generation of the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), states, “China suffered economy loses directly about $100,000,000,000 and about $500,000,000,000 indirectly by the Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

invasion". Given these facts, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

with the ROC in 1952, Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

waived reparations for the World War II

World War II

. Similarly, when Japan normalized relations with mainland China in 1972, Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

waived Japan’s reparations for World War II. According a Japanese Sinologist calculation Japan would have to pay 52 trillion yen. However, when the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

lost the war in 1894-95 and the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

in 1900, according to Yabuki Susumu, the PRC paid a total 289,540,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

, despite the weak economy of the Qing dynasty. Even though Japan had great economic power in 1972 (GNP

GNP

Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

$300 billion), Japan did not pay any money to the PRC for the war because China waived all rights to reparations.

Despite the Japanese Prime Minister's apology for Japanese crimes on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

, many Chinese feel there is a lack of true remorse for the wartime crimes. This has been reinforced by Japanese Prime Ministers' continued visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

, viewed by some as a symbol of Japan

Japan

's past fanaticism

Fanaticism

Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...

and militarism

Militarism

. Ex-Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

, however, vowed never to visit the Shrine while in power.

Issue of Taiwan

The Japan-Taiwan official split is one of the fundamental principles of Sino-Japanese relations. The PRC emphasises Taiwan

Taiwan

is a part of China and the PRC is the only legal government of China (cf. One-China policy

One-China policy

The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....

). By the 1972 agreement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

, the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

was argued to be invalid.

When the PRC-Japan normalization was concerned, the PRC had been worried about some Japanese pro-Taiwan independence politicians. At the same time, the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

(1960- ) has been a big problem for the PRC. In a point of the PRC's view, the military alliance treaty implicitly directs to the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

. It has become a big factor for Taiwan security affairs.

VIP Inter-visits

{| class="wikitable"
|+ From Japan to China
! Year!! Name
|-
! 1972
| Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka

Kakuei Tanaka

was a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively...

|-
! 1979
| Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira

Masayoshi Ohira

was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....

|-
! 1982
| Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki

Zenko Suzuki

was a Japanese politician and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935...

|-
! 1984
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone

Yasuhiro Nakasone

is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...

|-
! 1986
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
|-
! 1988
| Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita

Noboru Takeshita

was a Japanese politician and the 74th Prime Minister of Japan from November 6, 1987 to June 3, 1989.Takeshita was also the last Prime Minister during the long rule of the Emperor Shōwa.-Early years:...

|-
! 1991
| Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu

Toshiki Kaifu

is a Japanese politician who was the 76th and 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991.- Career :He was born in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, and was educated at Chuo University and Waseda University. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party , Kaifu ran successfully for the Diet in 1960 and...

|-
! 1992
| Their Majesties the Emperor

Akihito

is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...

and Empress
|-
! 1994
| Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa

Morihiro Hosokawa

is a Japanese politician who was the 79th Prime Minister of Japan from August 9, 1993 to April 28, 1994. His coalition was the first non-Liberal Democratic Party government since 1955.- Early life :...

|-
! 1995
| Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

Tomiichi Murayama

is a retired Japanese politician who served as the 81st Prime Minister of Japan from June 30, 1994 to January 11, 1996. He was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the first Socialist prime minister in nearly fifty years...

|-
! 1997
| Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

Ryutaro Hashimoto

was a Japanese politician who served as the 82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan from January 11, 1996 to July 30, 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politics until scandal...

|-
! 1999
| Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

Keizo Obuchi

was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives for twelve terms, and ultimately as the 84th Prime Minister of Japan from July 30, 1998 to April 5, 2000. His political career ended when he suffered a serious and ultimately fatal stroke....

|-
! 2001
| Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

(APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

in Shanghai)
|-
! 2006
| Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe

|-
! 2007
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

|-
! 2008
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (Summer Olympics in Beijing

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

)
{| class="infobox" style="text-align: center; font-size:11px; border:0"
|}

China

People's Republic of China

and Japan

Japan

are geographically separated only by a relatively narrow stretch of ocean

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

. China has strongly influenced Japan with its writing system, architecture

Chinese architecture

, culture

Culture of China

, religion

Religion in China

, philosophy

Chinese philosophy

, and law

Chinese law

Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st century, law in China has been a complex mix of traditional Chinese approaches and Western influences....

Opium Wars

and Anglo-French Expeditions from the 1840s to the 1860s. Japan's long chain of invasions and war crimes

Second Sino-Japanese War

in China between 1894 and 1945 as well as modern Japan's attitude towards its past are major issues affecting current Sino-Japanese relations.

China and Japan are respectively the world's second

Economy of the People's Republic of China

and third

Economy of Japan

The economy of Japan, a free market economy, is the third largest in the world after the United States and the People's Republic of China, and ahead of Germany at 4th...

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

The first mention of the Japanese Archipelago

Japanese Archipelago

The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...

was in the Chinese historic text Book of Later Han

Book of Later Han

, in the year 57, in which it was noted that the Emperor

Emperor of China

of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

gave a golden seal to Wa (Japan)

Wa (Japan)

. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū

Kyushu

Emperor of China

, Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

, sent several hundred people to Japan to search for medicines of immortality. During the third century, Chinese travelers reported that inhabitants of Japan claimed ancestry from Wu Taibo

Wu (state)

, a king of the Wu state (located in modern Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

before pollution made this impractical). Kofun

Kofun

era traditions appear in the records as the ancient Japanese built earthen mound tombs.

The first Japanese personage mentioned by the Wei Dynasty

Cao Wei

is Himiko, the female shaman leader of a country with hundreds of states called Yamataikoku

Yamataikoku

or is the Sino-Japanese name of an ancient country in Wa during the late Yayoi period . The Chinese history Sanguo Zhi first recorded Yemetaiguo or Yemayiguo as the domain of shaman Queen Himiko...

. Modern historical linguists believe Yamatai was actually pronounced Yamato

Yamato

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan. Later the term was used as the name of the province and also as an ancient name of Japan...

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

During the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

and Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

, Japan sent many students on a limited number of Imperial embassies to China

Imperial embassies to China

Heian period

, Buddhism

Buddhism

became one of the major religions, alongside Shinto

Shinto

.

The use of Chinese model of Imperial government ceased by the tenth century, overtaken by traditional Japanese clan and family rivalries (Soga-Mononobe, Taira-Minamoto).

First China-Japanese battle

In AD 663 the Battle of Baekgang

Battle of Baekgang

took place, the first China-Japanese conflict in recorded history. The battle was part of the ancient relationships between the Korean Three Kingdoms (Samguk or Samhan

Samhan

The Samhan period of Korean history comprises confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula, during the final century BCE and the early centuries CE....

), the Japanese Yamato, and Chinese dynasties. The battle itself came near the conclusion of this period with the fall of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, one of the Samguk or three Korean kingdoms, coming on the heels of this battle.

The background of the battle involves Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

(one of the Korean kingdoms) trying to dominate the Korean Peninsula by forging an alliance with the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

, who were trying to defeat Koguryo, an ongoing conflict that dated back to the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

. At the time, Koguryo was allied to Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, the third major Korean kingdom. Yamato Japan supported Baekje earnestly with 30,000 troops and sending Abe no Hirafu

Abe no Hirafu

was a governor of Koshi Province. He fought against the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan . This was in 658...

, a seasoned general who fought the Ainu

Ainu people

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Marine trades between China and Japan are well recorded, and many Chinese artifacts could be excavated. Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

and Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

Ningbo

and Hangzhou

Hangzhou

had the most direct trading links to Japan and had Japanese residents doing business. Besides Korea during the Korean Three Kingdoms period (i.e. roughly AD 300-670), the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

, once subjugated by the Japanese crown, also served as a stopover for China-Japanese trading. Commodities included fine porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

, sandalwood

Sandalwood

, tea

Tea

and silk

Silk

. As a result of the close proximity to China (especially Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

), Kyushu

Kyushu

Hangzhou

: stewed pork in sugar, rice vinegar

Rice vinegar

, ginger and soy sauce. Fried fish or meatballs (such as Satsuma age

Satsuma age

) are also traditionally from Southern China (mainly Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

and Fujian

Fujian

). Noodle dishes (such as Hakata Ramen

Ramen

Tokugawa shogunate

after 1633, when Japan decided to close all direct links with the foreign world. Some trading was conducted by the Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

of Satsuma province through the Ryukyu Islands. Significant trading between China and Japan did not resume until the twentieth century, well into the modern age

Modern Age

Modern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was one of the three unifiers of Japan (Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

were the others). After subduing the Mōri

Mori clan

and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

s, Hideyoshi had the dream of eventually conquering China but needed to cross through Korea.

When Hideyoshi received refusals to his demands by Korea to cross the country to Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

China, he invaded Korea. In the first year of invasion in 1592, the Japanese reached as far as Manchuria under Kato Kiyomasa

Kato Kiyomasa

and fought the Jianzhou Jurchens

Jianzhou Jurchens

. King Seonjo requested aid from the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

, but since Japanese advances were so fast, only small Ming forces were initially committed. Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...

, who garrisoned in Pyongyang in winter 1592, first encountered and defeated a force of 5,000 Chinese soldiers. In 1593, greater Chinese participation under General Li Rusong

Li Rusong

Emperor of Japan

and demanded concessions including the daughter of the Wanli

Wanli

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

in 1644.

Afterwards, Japan, under the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

adopted a policy of isolationism until forced open by Commodore Perry in the 1850s.

1868–1945

After the arrival of Commodore Perry and the forced opening of Japan

Japan

to western trading, Japan realized it needed to modernize to avoid the humiliation of China during the Opium Wars

Opium Wars

. Anti-Tokugawa tozama

Tozama

A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...

from the Shimazu

Shimazu clan

and Mori

Mori

clans overthrew the bakufu during the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

and restored the Japanese Emperor as head of state. Afterwards, military and government positions were taken by Mori and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

members who institutionalized rapid modernization, militarization and imperialism based on Western countries. The first countries to feel Japanese Imperialism were China and Korea

Korea

.

Friction between China and Japan

Japan

arose from Japan's control over the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

from 1870, annexation of Taiwan

Taiwan

after the First Sino-Japanese war

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

, Japanese troops beheaded and executed many Chinese civilians in Liaoning and Manchuria after capturing cities, such as Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

, but treated Russian prisoners with respect. Japanese troops participated in the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

in 1900 at the Siege of the International Legations (Boxer Rebellion), Seymour Expedition, Battle of Tientsin

Battle of Tientsin

, Gasalee Expedition

Gasalee Expedition

, Battle of Beitang

Battle of Beitang

The Battle of Beitang, during the Boxer Rebellion, was fought on September 20, 1900 between the Eight Nation Alliance and the Chinese army.-Battle:Beitang is located to Tianjin's north...

and Battle of Beicang

Battle of Beicang

World War I

, the Japanese attacked and occupied the German colony in Qingdao

Battle of Tsingtao

The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....

. The Japanese also issued the infamous Twenty-one Demands

Twenty-One Demands

in 1915. After World War I, China felt betrayed by the Allied countries as China was an Allied nation but was forced to give territory in Shandong

Shandong

to Japan and accept the Twenty-one Demands. This culminated in the May Fourth Movement

May Fourth Movement

Zhang Zuolin

stood in their way. His train was bombed by Japanese agents in 1928. In 1931, Japan

Japan

fully occupied Manchuria and created a new state called Manchukoku (Manchukuo

Manchukuo

), after a series of incidents culminating in the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

and came to full scale invasion of China in July 1937. Japan was soon able to gain control over all Chinese outlying territories.
The period between the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

in 1931 and the official beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

in 1937 involved constant regional armed resistance to Japanese advances in Manchuria

Manchuria

and North China

North China

thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....

, and Nanjing's efforts in stopping further encroachments through diplomatic negotiations. This era was turbulent for the Chinese Nationalists

Kuomintang

, as it was mired in a civil war with the Chinese Communists and maintained an uneasy truce with remnant warlord

Warlord

s, who nominally aligned with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

(Jiang Jieshi), following the Northern Expedition. This period also saw the Chinese Nationalists' pursuit in modernizing its National Revolutionary Army

National Revolutionary Army

, through the assistance of Soviet, and later German, advisors.

The Japanese invaded Beijing

Beijing

after accusing the Chinese Second United Front troops of shooting at Marco Polo Bridge. This marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

. Chinese nationalist aircraft then bombed Japanese positions in Shanghai and marked the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai

Battle of Shanghai

Bushido

) and civilians over the course of two months during the Rape of Nanking

Nanking Massacre

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

Surrender of Japan

.

The Republic of China (ROC) administrated Taiwan

Taiwan

after Japan's unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender

in 1945, following decision of the Allied Powers at the Cairo Conference

Cairo Conference

The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

concluded by the ROC and Japan

Japan

in 1952. At the time, the Taiwanese authorities (the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang

Kuomintang

World War II

reparations and the statement by Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

(August, 1995).

1950s

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

(PRC) in 1949, relations with Japan

Japan

changed from hostility and an absence of contact to cordiality and extremely close cooperation in many fields. Japan was defeated and Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

power dismantled, but the PRC continued to view Japan as a potential threat because of the United States Forces Japan

United States Forces Japan

Korean War

. The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

Japan

had recognized Taipei

Taipei

Beijing

Diet of Japan

members. Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi

, the deputy director of the State Council's Office of Foreign Affairs, was able to arrange many other agreements "such as the repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war with the Japanese Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

through trade, "people's diplomacy", contacts with Japanese opposition political parties, and through applying pressure on Tokyo

Tokyo

Sino-Soviet split

, economic necessity caused the PRC to reconsider and revitalize trade ties with Japan.

1960s

The Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

Japan

.

Tatsunosuke Takashi, member of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

Japan Bank for International Cooperation

(JEXIM). The accord also permitted the PRC to open a trade mission in Tokyo

Tokyo

Chinese language

:"走狗") of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Sino-Japanese ties declined again during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

, and the decline was further exacerbated by Japan

Japan

's growing strength and independence from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in the late 1960s. The PRC was especially concerned that Japan might remilitarize to compensate for the reduced US military presence in Asia

United States Pacific Command

brought about under president Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

1970s

Kawashima says:

Various arguments have been presented for applying the European model to Asia, bringing about an Asian balance of power
Balance of power in international relations
In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. The concept describes a state of affairs in the international system and explains the behavior of states in that system...

by weaving a network of alliances, ententes, or so-called strategic relationships among major players, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.
Particularly notable is the emergence of a new school of thought in Japan that stresses the importance to Japan of having better relations with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

as a counterforce to China. That strategy certainly is a product of the end of the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, and it reflects the sense of uncertainty and anxiety among the Japanese about China’s future course, given the country’s sheer size and robust economic growth, as well as the fact that a considerable portion of the fruit of that growth is allocated for defense.

1972 Nixon visit to China

encouraged the normalization process. His visit to Beijing

Beijing

culminated in the signing a joint statement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

Political status of Taiwan

. Subsequently, the bilateral economic relationships grow rapidly: 28 Japanese and 30 Chinese economic and trade missions visited their partner country.

The joint communiqué says:

The abnormal state of affairs that has hitherto existed between Japan and the People's Republic of China is terminated on the date on which this Joint Communique is issued.

The Government of Japan recognizes that Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China.

The Government of the People's Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Postsdam Proclamation
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

.

The Government of Japan and the Government of People's Republic of China have decided to establish diplomatic relations as from September 29, 1972. The two Governments have decided to take all necessary measures for the establishment and the performance of the functions of each other's embassy in their respective capitals in accordance with international law and practice, and to exchange ambassadors as speedily as possible.

The Government of the People's Republic of China declares that in the interest of the friendship between the Chinese and the Japanese peoples, it renounces its demand for war reparation from Japan.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China agree to establish relations of perpetual peace and friendship between the two countries on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. The two Governments confirm that, in conformity with the foregoing principles and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Japan and China shall in their mutual relations settle all disputes by peaceful means and shall refrain from the use or threat of force.

The normalization of relations between Japan and China is not directed against any third country. Neither of the two countries should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region and each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to solidifying and developing the relations of peace and friendship between the two countries, the two Governments will enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace and friendship.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to further promoting relations between the two countries and to expanding interchanges of people, the two Governments will, as necessary and taking account of the existing non-governmental arrangements, enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding agreements concerning such matters as trade, shipping, aviation, and fisheries.

Negotiations for a Sino-Japanese peace and friendship treaty began in 1974, but soon broken off in September 1975. The PRC insisted the anti-hegemony

Hegemony

clause, which was directed at the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, be included in the treaty. Japan objected the clause and did not wish to get involved in the Sino-Soviet split

Sino-Soviet split

.

However, the death of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Japan

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

(or Diaoyu Islands), a cluster of barren islets north of Taiwan

Taiwan

and south of the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

was signed on August 12 and came into effect October 23, 1978, under the two leaders of Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

and Fukuda Takeo.

1980s

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang

Tokyo

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

duplicated PRC's worries. They included the increased deployment in East Asia of Soviet armaments, the growth of the Soviet Pacific fleet, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet war in Afghanistan

and the potential threat it posed to Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

oil supply routes, and an increased Soviet military presence in Vietnam

Vietnam

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) to bring about a Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. Japan cut off all economic aid to Vietnam and provided substantial economic assistance to Thailand

Thailand

Pakistan

.

In Northeast Asia, Japan

Japan

and the PRC sought to moderate the behavior of their Korean partners, South Korea

South Korea

and North Korea

North Korea

Japanese history textbook controversies

Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...

). In late 1985, Chinese officials complained harshly about Prime Minister Nakasone's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

, which commemorates Japanese soldiers who had died in service of the Emperor some of whom are war criminals

War crime

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

Beijing

felt isolation and concerning anew about possible revival of Japanese militarism

Japanese militarism

. By the mid-1983, Beijing had decided coincidentally with its decision to improve relations with the Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

administration of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Beijing

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China

Hu Yaobang

, in 1987 was detrimental to smooth Sino-Japanese relations because Hu had built personal relationships with Nakasone and other Japanese leaders. The PRC government's harsh crackdown on pro-democracy

Democracy

Beijing

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tokyo

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

lead in limiting economic relations to the PRC.

1990s

World Trade Organization

(WTO).

2000s

By 2001 China’s international trade was the sixth-largest in the world; and over the next several years it was expected to be just under Japan, the fourth largest.

Today, Japan

Japan

is beginning to invest in the PRC less; a growing movement to cease Official development assistance

Official development assistance

(ODA) support is beginning to flourish within the Japanese public. Many argue that Japan should cease aid to the PRC for two major reasons:

It effectively subsidizes the PRC's military
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

build-up to give economic assistance to the PRC, which increasingly threatens Japan’s security.
It helps the PRC to give assistance to many other developing countries, particularly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and there is no need to assist any country that can afford to assist others.

World War II

damage . Tension erupted periodically over trade and technology issues. The PRC concern over potential Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

resurgence and controversy regarding Japan's relations with Taiwan

Taiwan

2005–2010

In early 2005, Japan and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

had issued a joint statement which "encourages the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait

Political status of Taiwan

National People's Congress

Shinzo Abe

and particularly Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

whose father achieved to conclude the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. In May 2008, Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao

"The two sides resolved to face history squarely, advance toward the future, and endeavor with persistence to create a new era of a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" between Japan and China. They announced that they would align Japan-China relations with the trends of international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...

and together forge a bright future for the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

region and the world while deepening mutual understanding, building mutual trust, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between their nations in an ongoing fashion into the future".

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. At the reception, he remarked on his "personal conviction regarding Japan-China relations":

"We should not constrain ourselves in the name of friendship between Japan and China. Rather, sound competition and active cooperation will constitute a true "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests." Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

said, "At thirty, I stood firm." In the same way, Japan and China must now stand atop the international stage and work to spread to the rest of the world this spirit of benefiting together".

2010 Trawler collision

Economy of the People's Republic of China

, including reduction to Japan, could be related to the dispute. Although officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation is an executive agency of the State Council of China...

Development of rare earth minerals abroad 19.7
Recycling, urban mining and developing alternative technology by the government and the private sector 1.6
Developing offshore oil and gas in Japan 16.3
Pre-feasibility study on methane hydrate deposits 8.9
Study on cobalt rich crust and other undersea reserves 6.8 (Cobalt rich crusts are undersea mineral deposits that contain manganese, cobalt, nickel and platinum, as well as rare earths such as neodymium and dysprosium.)

2011 Japanese White Paper

In 2011, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu criticized the annual Japanese defense white paper for calling attention to the "China threat theory".

Bilateral sensitive issues

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC points out some sensitive issues between Japan and the PRC:

Issue of history
Issue of Taiwan
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...
Issue of Senkaku Islands
Issue of Japanese-American security co-operation
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...
Issue of war reparations
Japanese chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

discarded in China

As Iechika and many others point out, the fundamental concerns of the Sino-Japanese relations has been the issues of history and Taiwan

Taiwan

. Therefore, this article describes the above two issues in the following.

Issue of history

The PRC joined other Asian countries, such as South Korea

South Korea

, North Korea

North Korea

and Singapore

Singapore

, in criticizing Japanese history textbooks that whiten Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes

in World War II

World War II

. They claimed that the rise of militarism

Militarism

became evident in Japanese politics. Much anti-Japanese sentiment

Anti-Japanese sentiment

has raised, and this has been exacerbated by burgeoning feelings of Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism

and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

. Although Koizumi openly declared– in a statement made on April 22, 2005 in Jakarta

Jakarta

– "deep remorse" over Japan

Japan

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

Beijing

to Shanghai

Shanghai

, later Guangzhou

Guangzhou

, Shenzhen

Shenzhen

and Shenyang

Shenyang

.

Furthermore, the PRC and Japan

Japan

Cinema of Japan

-produced documentary film

Documentary film

Taiwan

Japan's compensation

One of the many factors contributing to the bankruptcy of the Qing government was the requirement for the payment of war reparations. During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, the Chinese continually paid huge amounts of silver to Japan

Japan

. Japan was a recipient of compensation as a result of the outcome of many treaties, including the Sino-Japan Amity Treaty (1871), Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

(1895), the Triple Intervention

Triple Intervention

(1895) and the Boxer Protocol

Boxer Protocol

(1901).

After the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

in 1894-95, according to the Chinese scholar, Jin Xide, the Qing government paid a total of 340,000,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

Jiang Zemin

, the core-leader of the third generation of the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), states, “China suffered economy loses directly about $100,000,000,000 and about $500,000,000,000 indirectly by the Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

invasion". Given these facts, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

with the ROC in 1952, Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

waived reparations for the World War II

World War II

. Similarly, when Japan normalized relations with mainland China in 1972, Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

waived Japan’s reparations for World War II. According a Japanese Sinologist calculation Japan would have to pay 52 trillion yen. However, when the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

lost the war in 1894-95 and the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

in 1900, according to Yabuki Susumu, the PRC paid a total 289,540,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

, despite the weak economy of the Qing dynasty. Even though Japan had great economic power in 1972 (GNP

GNP

Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

, many Chinese feel there is a lack of true remorse for the wartime crimes. This has been reinforced by Japanese Prime Ministers' continued visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

, viewed by some as a symbol of Japan

Japan

's past fanaticism

Fanaticism

and militarism

Militarism

. Ex-Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

, however, vowed never to visit the Shrine while in power.

Issue of Taiwan

The Japan-Taiwan official split is one of the fundamental principles of Sino-Japanese relations. The PRC emphasises Taiwan

Taiwan

is a part of China and the PRC is the only legal government of China (cf. One-China policy

One-China policy

The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....

). By the 1972 agreement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

, the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

(1960- ) has been a big problem for the PRC. In a point of the PRC's view, the military alliance treaty implicitly directs to the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

. It has become a big factor for Taiwan security affairs.

VIP Inter-visits

{| class="wikitable"
|+ From Japan to China
! Year!! Name
|-
! 1972
| Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka

Kakuei Tanaka

was a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively...

|-
! 1979
| Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira

Masayoshi Ohira

|-
! 1982
| Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki

Zenko Suzuki

was a Japanese politician and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935...

|-
! 1984
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone

Yasuhiro Nakasone

|-
! 1986
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
|-
! 1988
| Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita

Noboru Takeshita

|-
! 1991
| Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu

Toshiki Kaifu

|-
! 1992
| Their Majesties the Emperor

Akihito

and Empress
|-
! 1994
| Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa

Morihiro Hosokawa

|-
! 1995
| Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

Tomiichi Murayama

|-
! 1997
| Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

Ryutaro Hashimoto

|-
! 1999
| Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

Keizo Obuchi

|-
! 2001
| Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

(APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

in Shanghai)
|-
! 2006
| Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe

|-
! 2007
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

|-
! 2008
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (Summer Olympics in Beijing

2008 Summer Olympics

)
{| class="infobox" style="text-align: center; font-size:11px; border:0"
|}

China

People's Republic of China

and Japan

Japan

are geographically separated only by a relatively narrow stretch of ocean

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

. China has strongly influenced Japan with its writing system, architecture

Chinese architecture

, culture

Culture of China

, religion

Religion in China

, philosophy

Chinese philosophy

, and law

Chinese law

Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st century, law in China has been a complex mix of traditional Chinese approaches and Western influences....

Opium Wars

and Anglo-French Expeditions from the 1840s to the 1860s. Japan's long chain of invasions and war crimes

Second Sino-Japanese War

in China between 1894 and 1945 as well as modern Japan's attitude towards its past are major issues affecting current Sino-Japanese relations.

China and Japan are respectively the world's second

Economy of the People's Republic of China

and third

Economy of Japan

The economy of Japan, a free market economy, is the third largest in the world after the United States and the People's Republic of China, and ahead of Germany at 4th...

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

The first mention of the Japanese Archipelago

Japanese Archipelago

The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...

was in the Chinese historic text Book of Later Han

Book of Later Han

, in the year 57, in which it was noted that the Emperor

Emperor of China

of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

gave a golden seal to Wa (Japan)

Wa (Japan)

. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū

Kyushu

Emperor of China

, Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

, sent several hundred people to Japan to search for medicines of immortality. During the third century, Chinese travelers reported that inhabitants of Japan claimed ancestry from Wu Taibo

Wu (state)

, a king of the Wu state (located in modern Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

before pollution made this impractical). Kofun

Kofun

era traditions appear in the records as the ancient Japanese built earthen mound tombs.

The first Japanese personage mentioned by the Wei Dynasty

Cao Wei

is Himiko, the female shaman leader of a country with hundreds of states called Yamataikoku

Yamataikoku

or is the Sino-Japanese name of an ancient country in Wa during the late Yayoi period . The Chinese history Sanguo Zhi first recorded Yemetaiguo or Yemayiguo as the domain of shaman Queen Himiko...

. Modern historical linguists believe Yamatai was actually pronounced Yamato

Yamato

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan. Later the term was used as the name of the province and also as an ancient name of Japan...

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

During the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

and Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

, Japan sent many students on a limited number of Imperial embassies to China

Imperial embassies to China

Heian period

, Buddhism

Buddhism

became one of the major religions, alongside Shinto

Shinto

.

The use of Chinese model of Imperial government ceased by the tenth century, overtaken by traditional Japanese clan and family rivalries (Soga-Mononobe, Taira-Minamoto).

First China-Japanese battle

In AD 663 the Battle of Baekgang

Battle of Baekgang

took place, the first China-Japanese conflict in recorded history. The battle was part of the ancient relationships between the Korean Three Kingdoms (Samguk or Samhan

Samhan

The Samhan period of Korean history comprises confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula, during the final century BCE and the early centuries CE....

), the Japanese Yamato, and Chinese dynasties. The battle itself came near the conclusion of this period with the fall of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, one of the Samguk or three Korean kingdoms, coming on the heels of this battle.

The background of the battle involves Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

(one of the Korean kingdoms) trying to dominate the Korean Peninsula by forging an alliance with the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

, who were trying to defeat Koguryo, an ongoing conflict that dated back to the Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

. At the time, Koguryo was allied to Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, the third major Korean kingdom. Yamato Japan supported Baekje earnestly with 30,000 troops and sending Abe no Hirafu

Abe no Hirafu

was a governor of Koshi Province. He fought against the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan . This was in 658...

, a seasoned general who fought the Ainu

Ainu people

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Marine trades between China and Japan are well recorded, and many Chinese artifacts could be excavated. Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

and Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

Ningbo

and Hangzhou

Hangzhou

had the most direct trading links to Japan and had Japanese residents doing business. Besides Korea during the Korean Three Kingdoms period (i.e. roughly AD 300-670), the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

, once subjugated by the Japanese crown, also served as a stopover for China-Japanese trading. Commodities included fine porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

, sandalwood

Sandalwood

, tea

Tea

and silk

Silk

. As a result of the close proximity to China (especially Jiangsu

Jiangsu

and Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

), Kyushu

Kyushu

Hangzhou

: stewed pork in sugar, rice vinegar

Rice vinegar

, ginger and soy sauce. Fried fish or meatballs (such as Satsuma age

Satsuma age

) are also traditionally from Southern China (mainly Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

and Fujian

Fujian

). Noodle dishes (such as Hakata Ramen

Ramen

Tokugawa shogunate

after 1633, when Japan decided to close all direct links with the foreign world. Some trading was conducted by the Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

of Satsuma province through the Ryukyu Islands. Significant trading between China and Japan did not resume until the twentieth century, well into the modern age

Modern Age

Modern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was one of the three unifiers of Japan (Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

were the others). After subduing the Mōri

Mori clan

and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

s, Hideyoshi had the dream of eventually conquering China but needed to cross through Korea.

When Hideyoshi received refusals to his demands by Korea to cross the country to Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

China, he invaded Korea. In the first year of invasion in 1592, the Japanese reached as far as Manchuria under Kato Kiyomasa

Kato Kiyomasa

and fought the Jianzhou Jurchens

Jianzhou Jurchens

. King Seonjo requested aid from the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

, but since Japanese advances were so fast, only small Ming forces were initially committed. Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga

Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...

, who garrisoned in Pyongyang in winter 1592, first encountered and defeated a force of 5,000 Chinese soldiers. In 1593, greater Chinese participation under General Li Rusong

Li Rusong

Emperor of Japan

and demanded concessions including the daughter of the Wanli

Wanli

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

in 1644.

Afterwards, Japan, under the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

adopted a policy of isolationism until forced open by Commodore Perry in the 1850s.

1868–1945

After the arrival of Commodore Perry and the forced opening of Japan

Japan

to western trading, Japan realized it needed to modernize to avoid the humiliation of China during the Opium Wars

Opium Wars

. Anti-Tokugawa tozama

Tozama

A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...

from the Shimazu

Shimazu clan

and Mori

Mori

clans overthrew the bakufu during the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

and restored the Japanese Emperor as head of state. Afterwards, military and government positions were taken by Mori and Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

members who institutionalized rapid modernization, militarization and imperialism based on Western countries. The first countries to feel Japanese Imperialism were China and Korea

Korea

.

Friction between China and Japan

Japan

arose from Japan's control over the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

from 1870, annexation of Taiwan

Taiwan

after the First Sino-Japanese war

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

, Japanese troops beheaded and executed many Chinese civilians in Liaoning and Manchuria after capturing cities, such as Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

, but treated Russian prisoners with respect. Japanese troops participated in the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

in 1900 at the Siege of the International Legations (Boxer Rebellion), Seymour Expedition, Battle of Tientsin

Battle of Tientsin

, Gasalee Expedition

Gasalee Expedition

, Battle of Beitang

Battle of Beitang

The Battle of Beitang, during the Boxer Rebellion, was fought on September 20, 1900 between the Eight Nation Alliance and the Chinese army.-Battle:Beitang is located to Tianjin's north...

and Battle of Beicang

Battle of Beicang

World War I

, the Japanese attacked and occupied the German colony in Qingdao

Battle of Tsingtao

The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....

. The Japanese also issued the infamous Twenty-one Demands

Twenty-One Demands

in 1915. After World War I, China felt betrayed by the Allied countries as China was an Allied nation but was forced to give territory in Shandong

Shandong

to Japan and accept the Twenty-one Demands. This culminated in the May Fourth Movement

May Fourth Movement

Zhang Zuolin

stood in their way. His train was bombed by Japanese agents in 1928. In 1931, Japan

Japan

fully occupied Manchuria and created a new state called Manchukoku (Manchukuo

Manchukuo

), after a series of incidents culminating in the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

and came to full scale invasion of China in July 1937. Japan was soon able to gain control over all Chinese outlying territories.
The period between the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

in 1931 and the official beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

in 1937 involved constant regional armed resistance to Japanese advances in Manchuria

Manchuria

and North China

North China

thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....

, and Nanjing's efforts in stopping further encroachments through diplomatic negotiations. This era was turbulent for the Chinese Nationalists

Kuomintang

, as it was mired in a civil war with the Chinese Communists and maintained an uneasy truce with remnant warlord

Warlord

s, who nominally aligned with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

(Jiang Jieshi), following the Northern Expedition. This period also saw the Chinese Nationalists' pursuit in modernizing its National Revolutionary Army

National Revolutionary Army

, through the assistance of Soviet, and later German, advisors.

The Japanese invaded Beijing

Beijing

after accusing the Chinese Second United Front troops of shooting at Marco Polo Bridge. This marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

. Chinese nationalist aircraft then bombed Japanese positions in Shanghai and marked the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai

Battle of Shanghai

Bushido

) and civilians over the course of two months during the Rape of Nanking

Nanking Massacre

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

Surrender of Japan

.

The Republic of China (ROC) administrated Taiwan

Taiwan

after Japan's unconditional surrender

Unconditional surrender

in 1945, following decision of the Allied Powers at the Cairo Conference

Cairo Conference

The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

concluded by the ROC and Japan

Japan

in 1952. At the time, the Taiwanese authorities (the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang

Kuomintang

World War II

reparations and the statement by Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

(August, 1995).

1950s

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

(PRC) in 1949, relations with Japan

Japan

changed from hostility and an absence of contact to cordiality and extremely close cooperation in many fields. Japan was defeated and Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

power dismantled, but the PRC continued to view Japan as a potential threat because of the United States Forces Japan

United States Forces Japan

Korean War

. The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

Japan

had recognized Taipei

Taipei

Beijing

Diet of Japan

members. Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi

, the deputy director of the State Council's Office of Foreign Affairs, was able to arrange many other agreements "such as the repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war with the Japanese Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

through trade, "people's diplomacy", contacts with Japanese opposition political parties, and through applying pressure on Tokyo

Tokyo

Sino-Soviet split

, economic necessity caused the PRC to reconsider and revitalize trade ties with Japan.

1960s

The Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

Japan

.

Tatsunosuke Takashi, member of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

Japan Bank for International Cooperation

(JEXIM). The accord also permitted the PRC to open a trade mission in Tokyo

Tokyo

Chinese language

:"走狗") of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Sino-Japanese ties declined again during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

, and the decline was further exacerbated by Japan

Japan

's growing strength and independence from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in the late 1960s. The PRC was especially concerned that Japan might remilitarize to compensate for the reduced US military presence in Asia

United States Pacific Command

brought about under president Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

1970s

Kawashima says:

Various arguments have been presented for applying the European model to Asia, bringing about an Asian balance of power
Balance of power in international relations
In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. The concept describes a state of affairs in the international system and explains the behavior of states in that system...

by weaving a network of alliances, ententes, or so-called strategic relationships among major players, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.
Particularly notable is the emergence of a new school of thought in Japan that stresses the importance to Japan of having better relations with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

as a counterforce to China. That strategy certainly is a product of the end of the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, and it reflects the sense of uncertainty and anxiety among the Japanese about China’s future course, given the country’s sheer size and robust economic growth, as well as the fact that a considerable portion of the fruit of that growth is allocated for defense.

1972 Nixon visit to China

encouraged the normalization process. His visit to Beijing

Beijing

culminated in the signing a joint statement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

Political status of Taiwan

. Subsequently, the bilateral economic relationships grow rapidly: 28 Japanese and 30 Chinese economic and trade missions visited their partner country.

The joint communiqué says:

The abnormal state of affairs that has hitherto existed between Japan and the People's Republic of China is terminated on the date on which this Joint Communique is issued.

The Government of Japan recognizes that Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China.

The Government of the People's Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Postsdam Proclamation
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

.

The Government of Japan and the Government of People's Republic of China have decided to establish diplomatic relations as from September 29, 1972. The two Governments have decided to take all necessary measures for the establishment and the performance of the functions of each other's embassy in their respective capitals in accordance with international law and practice, and to exchange ambassadors as speedily as possible.

The Government of the People's Republic of China declares that in the interest of the friendship between the Chinese and the Japanese peoples, it renounces its demand for war reparation from Japan.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China agree to establish relations of perpetual peace and friendship between the two countries on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. The two Governments confirm that, in conformity with the foregoing principles and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Japan and China shall in their mutual relations settle all disputes by peaceful means and shall refrain from the use or threat of force.

The normalization of relations between Japan and China is not directed against any third country. Neither of the two countries should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region and each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to solidifying and developing the relations of peace and friendship between the two countries, the two Governments will enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace and friendship.

The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that, with a view to further promoting relations between the two countries and to expanding interchanges of people, the two Governments will, as necessary and taking account of the existing non-governmental arrangements, enter into negotiations for the purpose of concluding agreements concerning such matters as trade, shipping, aviation, and fisheries.

Negotiations for a Sino-Japanese peace and friendship treaty began in 1974, but soon broken off in September 1975. The PRC insisted the anti-hegemony

Hegemony

clause, which was directed at the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, be included in the treaty. Japan objected the clause and did not wish to get involved in the Sino-Soviet split

Sino-Soviet split

.

However, the death of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Japan

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

(or Diaoyu Islands), a cluster of barren islets north of Taiwan

Taiwan

and south of the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

was signed on August 12 and came into effect October 23, 1978, under the two leaders of Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

and Fukuda Takeo.

1980s

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang

Tokyo

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

duplicated PRC's worries. They included the increased deployment in East Asia of Soviet armaments, the growth of the Soviet Pacific fleet, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet war in Afghanistan

and the potential threat it posed to Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

oil supply routes, and an increased Soviet military presence in Vietnam

Vietnam

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) to bring about a Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. Japan cut off all economic aid to Vietnam and provided substantial economic assistance to Thailand

Thailand

Pakistan

.

In Northeast Asia, Japan

Japan

and the PRC sought to moderate the behavior of their Korean partners, South Korea

South Korea

and North Korea

North Korea

Japanese history textbook controversies

Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...

). In late 1985, Chinese officials complained harshly about Prime Minister Nakasone's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

, which commemorates Japanese soldiers who had died in service of the Emperor some of whom are war criminals

War crime

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

Beijing

felt isolation and concerning anew about possible revival of Japanese militarism

Japanese militarism

. By the mid-1983, Beijing had decided coincidentally with its decision to improve relations with the Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

administration of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Beijing

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China

Hu Yaobang

, in 1987 was detrimental to smooth Sino-Japanese relations because Hu had built personal relationships with Nakasone and other Japanese leaders. The PRC government's harsh crackdown on pro-democracy

Democracy

Beijing

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tokyo

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

lead in limiting economic relations to the PRC.

1990s

World Trade Organization

(WTO).

2000s

By 2001 China’s international trade was the sixth-largest in the world; and over the next several years it was expected to be just under Japan, the fourth largest.

Today, Japan

Japan

is beginning to invest in the PRC less; a growing movement to cease Official development assistance

Official development assistance

(ODA) support is beginning to flourish within the Japanese public. Many argue that Japan should cease aid to the PRC for two major reasons:

It effectively subsidizes the PRC's military
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

build-up to give economic assistance to the PRC, which increasingly threatens Japan’s security.
It helps the PRC to give assistance to many other developing countries, particularly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and there is no need to assist any country that can afford to assist others.

World War II

damage . Tension erupted periodically over trade and technology issues. The PRC concern over potential Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

resurgence and controversy regarding Japan's relations with Taiwan

Taiwan

2005–2010

In early 2005, Japan and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

had issued a joint statement which "encourages the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait

Political status of Taiwan

National People's Congress

Shinzo Abe

and particularly Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

whose father achieved to conclude the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. In May 2008, Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao

"The two sides resolved to face history squarely, advance toward the future, and endeavor with persistence to create a new era of a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" between Japan and China. They announced that they would align Japan-China relations with the trends of international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...

and together forge a bright future for the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

region and the world while deepening mutual understanding, building mutual trust, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between their nations in an ongoing fashion into the future".

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

. At the reception, he remarked on his "personal conviction regarding Japan-China relations":

"We should not constrain ourselves in the name of friendship between Japan and China. Rather, sound competition and active cooperation will constitute a true "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests." Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

said, "At thirty, I stood firm." In the same way, Japan and China must now stand atop the international stage and work to spread to the rest of the world this spirit of benefiting together".

2010 Trawler collision

Economy of the People's Republic of China

, including reduction to Japan, could be related to the dispute. Although officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation is an executive agency of the State Council of China...

Development of rare earth minerals abroad 19.7
Recycling, urban mining and developing alternative technology by the government and the private sector 1.6
Developing offshore oil and gas in Japan 16.3
Pre-feasibility study on methane hydrate deposits 8.9
Study on cobalt rich crust and other undersea reserves 6.8 (Cobalt rich crusts are undersea mineral deposits that contain manganese, cobalt, nickel and platinum, as well as rare earths such as neodymium and dysprosium.)

2011 Japanese White Paper

In 2011, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu criticized the annual Japanese defense white paper for calling attention to the "China threat theory".

Bilateral sensitive issues

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC points out some sensitive issues between Japan and the PRC:

Issue of history
Issue of Taiwan
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...
Issue of Senkaku Islands
Issue of Japanese-American security co-operation
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...
Issue of war reparations
Japanese chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

discarded in China

As Iechika and many others point out, the fundamental concerns of the Sino-Japanese relations has been the issues of history and Taiwan

Taiwan

. Therefore, this article describes the above two issues in the following.

Issue of history

The PRC joined other Asian countries, such as South Korea

South Korea

, North Korea

North Korea

and Singapore

Singapore

, in criticizing Japanese history textbooks that whiten Japanese war crimes

Japanese war crimes

in World War II

World War II

. They claimed that the rise of militarism

Militarism

became evident in Japanese politics. Much anti-Japanese sentiment

Anti-Japanese sentiment

has raised, and this has been exacerbated by burgeoning feelings of Chinese nationalism

Chinese nationalism

and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

. Although Koizumi openly declared– in a statement made on April 22, 2005 in Jakarta

Jakarta

– "deep remorse" over Japan

Japan

Senkaku Islands

The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

Beijing

to Shanghai

Shanghai

, later Guangzhou

Guangzhou

, Shenzhen

Shenzhen

and Shenyang

Shenyang

.

Furthermore, the PRC and Japan

Japan

Cinema of Japan

-produced documentary film

Documentary film

Taiwan

Japan's compensation

One of the many factors contributing to the bankruptcy of the Qing government was the requirement for the payment of war reparations. During the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, the Chinese continually paid huge amounts of silver to Japan

Japan

. Japan was a recipient of compensation as a result of the outcome of many treaties, including the Sino-Japan Amity Treaty (1871), Treaty of Shimonoseki

Treaty of Shimonoseki

(1895), the Triple Intervention

Triple Intervention

(1895) and the Boxer Protocol

Boxer Protocol

(1901).

After the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

in 1894-95, according to the Chinese scholar, Jin Xide, the Qing government paid a total of 340,000,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

Jiang Zemin

, the core-leader of the third generation of the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

(CPC), states, “China suffered economy loses directly about $100,000,000,000 and about $500,000,000,000 indirectly by the Japanese military

Japan Self-Defense Forces

invasion". Given these facts, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

with the ROC in 1952, Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

waived reparations for the World War II

World War II

. Similarly, when Japan normalized relations with mainland China in 1972, Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

waived Japan’s reparations for World War II. According a Japanese Sinologist calculation Japan would have to pay 52 trillion yen. However, when the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

lost the war in 1894-95 and the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

in 1900, according to Yabuki Susumu, the PRC paid a total 289,540,000 taels of silver to Japan

Japan

, despite the weak economy of the Qing dynasty. Even though Japan had great economic power in 1972 (GNP

GNP

Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end

, many Chinese feel there is a lack of true remorse for the wartime crimes. This has been reinforced by Japanese Prime Ministers' continued visits to the Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

, viewed by some as a symbol of Japan

Japan

's past fanaticism

Fanaticism

and militarism

Militarism

. Ex-Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

, however, vowed never to visit the Shrine while in power.

Issue of Taiwan

The Japan-Taiwan official split is one of the fundamental principles of Sino-Japanese relations. The PRC emphasises Taiwan

Taiwan

is a part of China and the PRC is the only legal government of China (cf. One-China policy

One-China policy

The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....

). By the 1972 agreement

Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China

, the Treaty of Taipei

Treaty of Taipei

The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty , commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei , was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China signed in Taipei, Taiwan on April 28, 1952...

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...

(1960- ) has been a big problem for the PRC. In a point of the PRC's view, the military alliance treaty implicitly directs to the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

. It has become a big factor for Taiwan security affairs.

VIP Inter-visits

{| class="wikitable"
|+ From Japan to China
! Year!! Name
|-
! 1972
| Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka

Kakuei Tanaka

was a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively...

|-
! 1979
| Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira

Masayoshi Ohira

|-
! 1982
| Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki

Zenko Suzuki

was a Japanese politician and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935...

|-
! 1984
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone

Yasuhiro Nakasone

|-
! 1986
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
|-
! 1988
| Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita

Noboru Takeshita

|-
! 1991
| Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu

Toshiki Kaifu

|-
! 1992
| Their Majesties the Emperor

Akihito

and Empress
|-
! 1994
| Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa

Morihiro Hosokawa

|-
! 1995
| Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama

Tomiichi Murayama

|-
! 1997
| Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

Ryutaro Hashimoto

|-
! 1999
| Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

Keizo Obuchi

|-
! 2001
| Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

(APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

in Shanghai)
|-
! 2006
| Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe

|-
! 2007
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

|-
! 2008
| Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (Summer Olympics in Beijing

2008 Summer Olympics

)

Prime Minister Taro Aso

Taro Aso

was the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan serving from September 2008 to September 2009, and was defeated in the August 2009 election.He has served in the House of Representatives since 1979. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007, and was Secretary-General of the LDP briefly in 2007 and...

(ASEM

Asia-Europe Meeting

The Asia–Europe Meeting was officially established in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok. ASEM is an interregional forum which consists of the European Commission, the twenty-seven members of the European Union , the thirteen members of the ASEAN Plus Three regional grouping,, as of 2008, India,...

in Beijing)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ From China to Japan
! Year !! Name
|-
! 1978
| Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

|-
! 1979
| Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping
|-
! 1980
| Premier Hua Guofeng

Hua Guofeng

Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...

(state guest)
|-
! 1982
| Premier Zhao Ziyang

Zhao Ziyang

Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....

|-
! 1983
| General Secretary Hu Yaobang

Hu Yaobang

|-
! 1989
| Premier Li Peng

Li Peng

Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...

|-
! 1992
| General Secretary Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin

|-
! 1995
| General Secretary Jiang Zemin (APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

in Osaka)
|-
! 1997
| Premier Li Peng
|-
! 1998
| President Jiang Zemin (state guest)
|-
! 2000
| Premier Zhu Rongji

Zhu Rongji

Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...

|-
! 2007
| Premier Wen Jiabao

Wen Jiabao

Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...

|-
! 2008
| President Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao

(state guest)

President Hu Jintao (G8 summit in Hokkaido

34th G8 summit

The 34th G8 summit took place in on the northern island of Hokkaidō, Japan from July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits to have been hosted by Japan include: Tokyo ; and Nago, Okinawa . The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders...

)

Premier Wen Jiabao (Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit

China-Japan-South Korea trilateral meeting, 2008

Trilateral summits between the People's Republic of China, Japan and South Korea are held annually since the first summit began on December 13, 2008, in Fukuoka, Japan...

in Fukuoka)
|}

Some Sino-Japanese top meetings have been held somewhere else. In recent time, both leaders have met individually at the international conferences such as APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

and ASEAN Plus Three. During Koizumi premiership, such occasions were valuable opportunities for political contacts between Japan and China.

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Scarred by history: The Rape of Nanjing BBC
ODA looks wasted on China | The Japan Times Online
Shiokawa calls ODA to China foolish | The Japan Times Online
Japan, China strike deal on gas fields | The Japan Times Online
asahi.com: Settlement of Japan-China trade dispute vital
Japan Relations with China
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China: Japan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: Japan-China Relations
Russian Embassy in China: Russia and China
U.S. Department of State: China
"China & Japan: Rival giants" BBC, May 2008. Overview of Sino-Japanese relations, including historical background and current key issues
Rare Earth Elements, Asia's Energy Security, and Sino-Japanese Relations 5/12/11 Expert Q&A on how China's rare earth production affects Japan

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

First China-Japanese battle

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

1868–1945

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2005–2010

2010 Trawler collision

2011 Japanese White Paper

Bilateral sensitive issues

Issue of history

Japan's compensation

Issue of Taiwan

VIP Inter-visits

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

First China-Japanese battle

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

1868–1945

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2005–2010

2010 Trawler collision

2011 Japanese White Paper

Bilateral sensitive issues

Issue of history

Japan's compensation

Issue of Taiwan

VIP Inter-visits

First evidences of Japan in Chinese historical records AD 1-300

Introduction of Chinese political system and culture AD 600-900

First China-Japanese battle

The prosperities of marine trading 600-1600

Japanese piracy on China's coasts and Mongol invasions from China and Korea 1200-1600

Ming Dynasty's involvement to defeat Hideyoshi's Korean invasions of 1592-1598

1868–1945

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2005–2010

2010 Trawler collision

2011 Japanese White Paper

Bilateral sensitive issues

Issue of history

Japan's compensation

Issue of Taiwan

VIP Inter-visits

See also

Further reading

External links