Compromise in East China Sea a test of leadership

Another issue fraught with difficulty is resolving territorial disputes with China, South Korea and Russia.

The most pressing of these is the dispute over the island group named by the Japanese as the Senkakus and by the Chinese as the Diaoyus.

Prime Minister Abe said during the recent election campaign that Japan would not concede “one millimetre” of its territory to China.

While China’s new leader Xi Jinping has not responded directly, China has increased its presence near the uninhabited islands and recently flew a government aircraft overhead.

Japan responded by scrambling F-15 fighter jets.

This dispute represents a serious flashpoint and there is a high risk of miscalculation.

During my recent visits to Japan and China I have been struck by the militant rhetoric of officials in both countries in our discussions about the islands.

Both Japan and China are deadly serious about their respective territorial claims and neither appears prepared to compromise.

Much more is at stake than the oft-presumed motivation of gaining access to the seabed for energy and resources exploration.

The dispute is patently a matter of national pride for both countries, and is steeped in the complex history of an ancient rivalry.

China’s increasing military might has clearly unsettled large sections of Japanese society, and seems to many in Japan reason enough to pave the way for changes to the pacifist Constitution adopted in the wake of World War II.

Mr Abe has already signalled that he intends to pursue changes to s.9 of the Constitution which restricts the ability of Japan to deploy its armed forces.