By Yasushi Kudo
After about 25 hours of discussion, some 90 Japanese and Chinese
experts at the recent Tokyo-Beijing Forum agreed to come up with
specific proposals regarding current concerns between the two
countries.
But perhaps more meaningfully, the forum broke a long-standing
impasse in Japan-China ties.
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The forum was viewed as a viable "track two diplomacy" channel,
facilitating interaction among individuals and groups outside of
the official negotiation process.
No leader of Japan or China has visited the other country for
five years now because of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
repeated visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine. Unfortunately,
private-level interactions between citizens of the two nations have
also stagnated.
Amid such an environment, Genron NPO, a Japanese not-for-profit
organization, approached various representatives in China with a
proposal to hold a Tokyo-Beijing Forum in the Chinese capital in
the summer of 2005.
Those who agreed to take part in this new trial of a private
framework for dialogue included China Daily and Peking University's
School of International Studies.
The forum is now an annual event projected to continue for a
decade.
The latest such dialogue was held in Tokyo this month, a time
with special meaning for both countries.
August marks the anniversary of the end of the World War II, as
well as the month when the problem of Koizumi's visits to the
Yasukuni Shrine arises each year, sparking emotional responses from
China and other Asian countries. And this year's forum came just
ahead of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential
election, to be held in early September, which will decide the
country's next prime minister.
Under such circumstances, parties from both Japan and China
proposed postponing this year's forum in Japan. But the forum went
ahead as planned, and 35 Chinese experts, including seven
Cabinet-level officials, visited Japan to meet with 50 Japanese
opinion leaders, including ministers, top-level LDP officials,
businesspeople and media representatives.
The total audience for the general meeting and separate sessions
over the two days surpassed 1,000 people, making it an event of
unprecedented scale. At every session, specific suggestions were
made regarding co-operation and interaction between the two
countries.
This is evidence that the forum has developed from a simple
setting for discussion to a process driven by the private sector to
come up with specific problem-solving projects.
Although all sessions at the first forum in Beijing in 2005 were
held behind closed doors, sessions were open to the public this
year with the exception of those dealing with natural resources and
historical issues. One session was even broadcast live on cable
television. In response to a suggestion at the forum, Genron NPO
and China Daily have agreed to jointly set up a website to
regularly publicize discussions.
The forum also stimulated the two governments to take both
formal and substantive initiatives to improve their relations.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, now leading the
LDP's presidential race, distanced himself from past remarks to
express his enthusiasm for improving relations with China, saying,
"The Japan-China relationship is one of the most important
bilateral relationships," and, "I would like to put our partnership
back into gear."
In response, Wang Yi, the Chinese ambassador to Japan, said, "I
would like to rebuild mutual respect between the new leaders of the
two countries."
Ironically, it was discovered later the same day that Abe had
visited Yasukuni Shrine in April, and the topic filled Japanese
newspapers the following morning.
Still, Abe's remarks not only directly reached the Chinese
Government but were also widely reported in Chinese media.
The door to a Japan-China summit, long tightly shut, is about to
be opened by such messages.
Joint annual Japan-China opinion polls used within forum
discussions show that public sentiment in both countries regarding
the other has been unstable and stagnant. Last year's survey showed
a serious lack of basic mutual understanding and a gap in knowledge
between peoples of the two countries.
A change from simple discussion to a "meaningful exchange" that
would lead to private-level diplomacy was therefore considered
necessary. Forum participants believe that Japan-China relations
must improve and that private-level diplomatic efforts are
necessary to achieve this.
At the keynote speech at the forum's general meeting, Zhao
Qizheng, a former director of the State Council's Information
Office, pointed out the importance of "public diplomacy" positioned
between private-level exchanges and government diplomacy.
Hidenao Nakagawa, chairman of the LDP's policy research council,
meanwhile, proposed "a new Asian community" and said the private
sector should be the main player.
But the process has just begun. The Tokyo-Beijing Forum will
undertake continuous discussions and work towards next year's
meeting in Beijing both to improve relations between the two
countries and to solve pending issues.
The article is an excerpt from a story published in Asahi
Shimbun. In 2001, the author became the head of Genron NPO, a
non-profit organization that makes policy proposals through
symposiums and other forums.
(China Daily August 29, 2006)
