China-Japan Relations Worsen Ahead of 79th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre

By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - The China-Japan relationship, which has been deteriorating due to Japan's recognition of historical issues and territorial disputes, continues to grow apart from normalization. Besides, it is unlikely that the relationship will dramatically improve next year.

Most of all, Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre and a commemoration of the incident is expected to be a setback for normalization, according to Beijing's diplomatic sources on Sunday. China is igniting anti-Japanese sentiments as it prepares a massive commemoration on the day of the massacre of 300,000 Chinese who were killed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Sino-Japanese War in 1937. In the same vein, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said last week that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should visit the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall to apologize, not the Pearl Harbor, when commenting on Abe's planned visit to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii later this month to mourn the victims of the Japanese attack during the WWII. This is China's expression of strong displeasure with Japan's move to strengthen its alliance with the US, while ignoring its relations with China.

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