Japan should reflect on its China policy errors and rectify them

Editor's note: Ma Ning is a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The latest signal of the extraordinarily severe downturn in China-Japan relations in recent times came on Friday, when the Japanese government released its 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook. In this programmatic document guiding Japan's foreign strategy, Tokyo has downgraded China-Japan relations, described as "one of the most important bilateral relationships" for over a decade, to a mere "important neighbor."

Although Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs attempted to play this down, saying "expressions in various fields are adjusted every year," any discerning observer can see that this rhetorical retreat is no accidental technical revision. Rather, it is a deliberate display of coldness following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's egregious remarks on Taiwan-related issues, which have severely undermined the political foundation for bilateral ties.

Japan appears intent on downplaying the significance of its relationship with China to cover up its breach of trust on matters of core principle. Such an ostrich policy will only lead it further down the wrong path.

In stark contrast, on the same day, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Party, in Beijing. Both sides reaffirmed that "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family," demonstrating the Chinese people's firm confidence that they have the wisdom and ability to properly handle their internal affairs. This positive cross-Strait interaction stands in sharp relief to the shortsightedness and danger of Japan's continuous probing of red lines and undermining regional trust on the Taiwan question.

To halt the decline and stabilize China-Japan relations, Japan should demonstrate its sincerity in being a good neighbor and its resolve to carry out effective and thorough self-correction on three levels

It should return to the fundamentals of the political foundation and fully abide by the four political documents that are the cornerstone of the bilateral relations, rather than selectively abiding by them. The four documents are the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan, the 1998 China-Japan Joint Declaration on Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development, and the 2008 China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit.

In these documents, Japan explicitly recognizes the government of the PRC as the sole legal government and the fact that Taiwan belongs to China. This is the prerequisite for the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries and an integral part of the post-World War II (WWII) international order, brooking no ambiguity, retrogression, or so-called gray zone manipulation.

Yet in recent years, an extremely dangerous trend has emerged in Japanese politics. While proclaiming in diplomatic rhetoric that it abides by the documents, Japan has, in practice, been gradually hollowing out their spiritual core through its intention of revising three national security documents. This reflects its dangerous moves to speed up "remilitarization," and hype up the "Taiwan emergency."

The downgrading of China in this year's Diplomatic Bluebook is an attempt by the Japanese authorities to distance Japan from China psychologically, paving the way for more confrontational policies in the future.

Japan must recognize that the four political documents are not a "menu" to be picked from and chosen at will, but a solemn moral and diplomatic covenant. The logic for improving relations is straightforward: Japan must honestly return to the framework of the four political documents.

It should also retract its erroneous remarks without delay, and abide by the one-China principle with concrete actions. The direct trigger for the rapid deterioration of China-Japan relations is the erroneous Taiwan-related remarks made by Takaichi. She previously claimed that Japan could not abandon its allies if a crisis were to occur in the Taiwan Strait. Such remarks amount to an open challenge to the one-China principle and a grave affront to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They not only constitute interference in China's internal affairs but also challenge the post-WWII international order.

If Japan truly wishes to improve relations, its first step must be to retract those erroneous Taiwan-related remarks, cease sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, halt all forms of official exchanges and military collusion with the Taiwan region, and above all, refrain from cooperating with certain external forces in hyping the narrative of a "Taiwan emergency."

Exchanges and dialogues between the mainland and people of insight in Taiwan, including the Chinese KMT, have proven that the correct path to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait lies in adhering to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, not in inviting external interference to add fuel to the fire. If Japan genuinely wants to contribute to regional peace, it should restrain itself and respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It should abandon the mindset of containing China and translate its "future-oriented" commitments into verifiable, constructive measures. Inconsistency between words and deeds is a major obstacle plaguing current China-Japan relations. Tokyo claims it hopes to build a "constructive and stable Japan-China relationship" while continuously taking hostile actions in the military and security fields that exacerbate tensions.

Japan's defense budget for fiscal year 2026 exceeded 9 trillion yen (about $58 billion) for the first time, hitting a record high. It openly labels China as so-called an unprecedentedly grave strategic challenge. Recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba publicly advocated strengthening the US-Japan-South Korea military alliance to forge an "Asian version of a mini-NATO" to encircle China. This duplicitous approach – talking about cooperation while sharpening knives – has completely eroded the foundation of diplomatic dialogue.

"Taking history as a mirror and facing the future" must not merely be a slogan. If Japan wishes to regain China and other regional countries' trust, it must stop its provocative words and deeds on issues such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It must also cease following countries in pursuing exclusive "decoupling, breaking industrial chains" and "small yard, high fence" policies.

As close neighbors that cannot move away, China and Japan both benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Japan should abandon the outdated cold-war containment mindset, view China's development and rejuvenation with an open mind, and put positive energy into bilateral relations through pragmatic economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and coordination on regional affairs.

The current impasse in China-Japan relations is entirely attributable to Japan's erroneous words and deeds. If Japan persists in downgrading relations and shifting blame, it will only sink deeper into regional geopolitical rivalry, ultimately harming its own national interests.

China's policy toward Japan has always been committed to developing long-term, stable friendly cooperative relations. However, all this is premised on Japan honoring its commitments, correcting its mistakes and implementing the political consensus reached between them. Whether Japan can seize the opportunity to change course will serve as an acid test of its strategic rationality and diplomatic integrity.

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