Time bomb damages Japan's ties with China

The civic group is worried that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abemay avoid these descriptions in the statement he is expected to issue in August on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. Abe has said he plans to focus on his nation's postwar contributions to peace and future plans.

Since Murayama issued the statement, it has defined Japanese government's official view about the war and has been upheld by the successive Cabinets. Murayama's soul-searching on Japan's war history played a big role in winning Japan trust in the international community. It helped Japan mend fences with China and South Korea.

But Japan's ties with the two countries have suffered under the Abe administration due to his revisionist interpretation of the war and his visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. The history issue has become a time bomb that can damage Japan's relations with China and South Korea when Japanese politicians deny or justify Japan's role and responsibilities in the war.

Motofumi Asai, a veteran Japanese diplomat, is on the group's China trip. He is not optimistic about ties in the near future.

"The severity of the history issue in the country is that there are many conservative people in the political parties like the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Japan and Innovation Party. The end of the Abe administration will not necessarily mean that the history issue will disappear," Asai said before leaving for Beijing.

The visits and talks this spring seem to send a ray of hope for a better China-Japan relationship. But the Abe administration may still set off the bomb.

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn