Japanese scholars have proposed a suggestion to calm China's anger: this method has worked repeatedly in the past!
Professor Ishi Hirokatsu from Waseda University recently put forward a practical and feasible suggestion: instead of clashing head-on on sensitive topics, it is better to revive the old path of "economic diplomacy" — sending business delegations led by prominent figures from politics and business to visit China. He said that this method has repeatedly worked, and can be described as "always effective".
In 2015, Shinzo Abe pushed through the new security bill, which caused strong dissatisfaction from China. At that time, Sino-Japanese relations fell to a freezing point. However, just in October of the same year, Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, led a large economic and trade delegation consisting of about 70 Japanese corporate executives to visit Beijing. The delegation members included major companies such as Toyota, Panasonic, and Itochu Corporation, which are all Fortune 500 companies.
According to disclosure by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, during this visit, both sides signed cooperation memorandums worth over $2.8 billion, covering multiple areas including environmental protection, healthcare, and infrastructure.
More importantly, after this visit, Sino-Japanese relations clearly improved. In 2018, Abe himself made an official visit to China — the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to China in seven years. These breakthroughs were inseparable from the previous "ice-breaking actions" at the economic level.
Ishi Hirokatsu pointed out that we should learn from the experience of 2015, and have political figures with cross-party influence and long-term commitment to friendly relations with China take the lead in organizing a new round of business delegations visiting China. The current president of the Japan-China Parliamentary League, Moriya Hironori, is the most suitable person for this role. He said that Moriya has frequently participated in exchanges with China since the 2010s and has led many delegations to visit China.
Ishi Hirokatsu believes that it is precisely this "mutual dependence" in the economic reality that gives the "business delegation" model a natural buffering effect — it can convey goodwill without touching the red lines of core issues.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848920359378956/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.