ABSTRACT
At the beginning of 2016, in his administration's speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo noted his diplomatic goal of improving Sino-Japanese relations, and stated that his administration's focus on revitalizing Japan's domestic economy would require greater cooperation with China. It is undeniable that: structural contradictions in Sino-Japanese relations still exist; their disputes over recognition of the history and territorial issues and the mutual distrust regarding security matters remain; and the opinions held by nationals of both countries toward their counterparts are still very low. Though such problems remain, Sino-Japanese relations have the potential to improve or at least remain stable—as long as the two governments want to improve the relations and are willing to take measures to do so, such as to restrain crises, to expand bilateral economic and cultural exchanges, and to enhance people-to-people exchanges. In recent years, Chinese tourist visits to Japan have continued to increase.
