Japan must think about consequences before provoking China

The Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan has continued to heat up. About 50 Japanese nationals and local parliamentarians participated in a so-called memorial ceremony in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture organized by a parliamentary union for "defending Japanese territory" on Aug. 18. More than 150 Japanese ring-wing activists, including parliamentarians from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), arrived at the Diaoyu Islands waters onboard 21 vessels on the morning of Aug. 19, and 10 of them landed on the islands. The DPJ's policy chief Seiji Maehara said on Aug. 19 that Japanese activists' landing on the Diaoyu Islands was triggered by previous actions of Hong Kong activists, and thus was entirely understandable. Maehara's statement is utter connivance and support for the ring-wing activists' landing which has further damaged China-Japan relations. Given continued escalation of the Diaoyu Islands dispute in recent months, we find it necessary to remind the Japanese government that provoking China over the Diaoyu Islands will enrage not only the Chinese mainland. The Japanese government must be aware that provocations against China over the Diaoyu Islands will accelerate the collapse of the DPJ plagued by internal chaos, instead of consolidating its political power. The Japanese government must be aware that provocations against China over the Diaoyu Islands will not only damage China-Japan relations, but hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and we cannot help but think of Kakuei Tanaka, Masayoshi Ohira, and other Japanese statesmen who risked their political careers to promote the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. They have thus gone down in history as great statesmen. At present, certain Japanese politicians are risking their political careers to damage China-Japan relations. They will be swept into the dustbin of history as they are moving against the trend of the times. The best solution to the Diaoyu Islands dispute is sincere dialogue at the negotiating table. The earlier the two countries return to the negotiating table, the sooner their relations will go back to normal.