Conclusion

Throughout this semester, my Blog posts have shed light on the current state of Sino-Japanese relations, the historical reasons for the existing tensions between the two nations, and suggestions on how to ameliorate these tensions. In this last Blog, I will be summarizing my earlier points and hopefully conclude on an optimistic note.

As many political scientists and international experts have stated, Asia is most likely be one of the most important, if not the most important geopolitical region in the 21st century. Therefore, it is crucial for Japan and China to cooperate amicably in the future to ensure global stability. Unfortunately, Sino-Japanese relations has been rather turbulent over the past few years, most notably with China and Japan's disputes over islands in the East China Sea and disagreements over history. Popular anti-Japanese protests have been on the rise in China, and this has served to antagonize the Japanese government and public even more.

Japan also happens to be one of the United States' friendliest allies, and the U.S-Japan Security Treaty means that the United States will be implicated in the event of a potential armed conflict between China and Japan. Therefore, to reduce the risk of such event and to facilitate the improvement of relations between China and Japan, the United States should encourage Japan to be more confrontational towards its wartime past.

There is hope for relations between China and Japan to improve in the future. Younger generations in both countries are less connected to the horrors of World War II, which hopefully would allow the two countries to deal with historical tensions from more rational perspectives. Moreover, Japan and China's economic ties are one of the strongest points of their relations, and therefore the two nations can further strengthen their economic ties as an effort to improve their overall relationship. Lastly, I think it is becoming more and more apparent to both the Chinese and Japanese government that it is of strategic importance to improve the relations between them.

Citations:

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40093.pdf

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/japan/2010-03-01/united-states-japan-security-treaty-50