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Wartime antics mar Japan's efforts
By CNN Senior China Analyst Willy Wo-Lap Lam
(CNN) -- A visit by top Japanese politicians to Beijing to mark the 25th anniversary of a peace treaty between the two nations has been marred by China's deep-rooted resentment over Tokyo's wartime atrocities. A spate of Japanese ministers have visited Beijing in the past days, not only to commemorate the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, but also to lobby for a bullet train service and help set up talks over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. But despite moves by Japan to bolster ties, many Chinese are still upset over what they see as Tokyo's refusal to admit to the full extent of its atrocities in China during World War Two, diplomatic analysts say. The long-standing animosity over Japan's wartime antics was given new fuel this month after 36 Chinese fell ill from chemical weapons left over by the Japanese army in Qiqihar city in Heilongjiang Province. The poisonous material -- stored in five metal barrels -- was unearthed at a construction site in China's northeast. China's official media has urged Tokyo to fully compensate the victims as well as their relatives. That call comes as Beijing falls back on "the lesson of history" to urge Tokyo not to boost its military capacity amid the North Korean nuclear crisis. During a meeting with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda in Beijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said both countries should "look to the future while drawing lessons from history." Fukuda arrived in Beijing on Saturday and is set to stay through Monday for talks with Chinese leaders to help defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis. President Hu Jintao met former Japanese prime ministers Ryutaro Hashimoto and Tomiichi Murayama over the weekend, where he said both countries should be "more aware of the historical responsibilities ... when they review the lessons from history." 'Right-wing'
In the past year, China's official press has run dozens of stories about the surge of right-wing, "militaristic" sentiments in Japan. In an article in the Global Times last week, Japan analyst Liu Linli wrote Tokyo was fomenting a "North Korean threat theory" so as to "take advantage of the opportunity to develop nuclear weapons." Diplomatic analysts have warned that Beijing's concern about Japanese remilitarization might detract from the good will generated as East Asian nations pile pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction. Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who is visiting Japan, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday to talk about the nuclear standoff. Strong anti-Japanese sentiment is shared among ordinary Chinese. Tens of thousands have signed a Website petition urging their government against using Japanese technology to build a rail link between Beijing and Shanghai. Japan is anxious to secure the bullet train contract, and sources close to Beijing say that because of its history and lower costs, the Japanese Shinkansen, or bullet train, offers advantages over the magnetic levitation model pushed by the Germans. Earlier this month, Japan Transport Minister Chikage Ogi traveled to Beijing to lobby for the $20 billion Beijing-Shanghai rail link. But such moves have set China's Internet chat rooms abuzz, stirring anti-Japanese sentiment among many Chinese.
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