The major point of contention between the Asian powers since World War II is Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the war dead of the short-lived Japanese Empire. The shrine houses and commemorates the remains of 14 convicted war criminals whose crimes were largely perpetrated against the Chinese and other Asian peoples during the Sino-Japanese War and the second World War. Recent communication between China and Japan had been strained by former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi’s unwillingness to negotiate about the Yaskuni Shrine, enhancing feelings of “us versus them” between Japan and China rather than trying to incorporate both states as part of an East Asian “us."

Fortunately for the region, more recent Japanese Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso seem willing to reopen top-level communication with China, and both sides seem thrilled to enhance their relationship. These ties are not simply economic, but attempt to strengthen cultural ties. 2008 has been announced as the “China-Japan Youth Friendly Exchange Year,” a program that seeks to bring China and Japan closer together for the next generation as well as the current one.

Since Taro Aso’s ascent to the Prime Minister’s position last month, there has been an increase in communication between Aso and Jiabao, from Chinese congratulations on Aso’s installment as Prime Minister to the celebration of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

Any shared friendship and identity between China and Japan would be a benefit for the region, as cooperation between these two powers goes a long way in promoting tranquility in East Asia as groups are less likely to be hostile toward people they see as similar.