A different approach needed

Caroline Kennedy will be expected to temper Japan's belligerence when she becomes the US ambassador in Tokyo

Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former US President John F. Kennedy, has been nominated to be US Ambassador to Japan. For China, the question is what role she will play in the relations between the United States, Japan and China at a time when relations between China and Japan have soured, and relations between China and the US have good momentum.

China and Japan have fundamentally different views of history and territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands and East China Sea. Although complicated, these questions can be resolved so long as the two sides negotiate with each other calmly. The trouble is that the US, because of its alliance has shown partiality toward Japan rather than taking a neutral position. This has fuelled not only the resurgence of right-wing militarism in Japan, but also nationalism in China, pushing East Asia into a situation that is becoming difficult to control.