ABSTRACT
The Sino-Japanese role relationship is one of the most important relationships for both countries, but it is not a constant. Despite a stable economic partnership since normalization, the People's Republic of China and Japan have never developed a stable political or geostrategic relationship. This chapter argues that the ascent of conservative and nationalistic interpretations of East Asia's colonial past in both nations has facilitated this turn for the worse. Accordingly, China-Japan role relations today are characterized by a paradox of partnership and rivalry, which may turn into open enmity if elites in both countries choose to do so for reasons of domestic regime survival. The chapter reviews current changes in Japan's national security system as a case demonstrating how China's changing role in East Asia has facilitated the dilution of Japan's pacifist norms and institutions. It argues that Japan's response to China's rise is likely to affect Beijing's role-taking and role-making.
