Abe pledges to mend ties with China, S Korea

Adhesive tape and diplomacy only choice for Abe.

some14some - Pehaps something new for you...... It is called "diplomacy" , and effectively administered, is better than war.

By sending the envoy to China Japan get shows they are mature and much more trust worthy than Chinese. But Abe is on a track that he is going to play the best game. He will be given the full support from all the civilized countries to make nuke to protect Japan. China you are at lose.

Sending an envoy is one thing, but just what kind of diplomacy they use is another. The only way there will ever be peace between these countries is through compromise, which none of these countries seem to be prepared to do, including Japan.

Abe making overtures iis a SOFT way to put pressure to work some kind of sustainabe quid pro quo.

This is a good move by Abe, the best thing for Japan is friendly relations with its nearest neighbours.

japan has ZERO friendly neighbors so its definitely time to get some, if only for facade

realmind: "By sending the envoy to China Japan get shows they are mature and much more trust worthy than Chinese."

Keep in mind this is a vow made by the man who not only promised to take a tough stand and not to back down on the island issue(s), but who is also a history revisionist who has only worsened ties in the past. That said, we can still hope, and this is a good start. The question is what the letters he is sending (along with the envoys) say, and not only what China and South Korea can give Japan, but what Japan is willing to give in turn. Nothing can be won by saying Japan won't change its stance on anything and will in fact be TOUGHER on certain issues.

Disillusioned: "The only way there will ever be peace between these countries is through compromise, which none of these countries seem to be prepared to do, including Japan."

Wish I had seen your comment before posting mine, because they are my thoughts exactly. In particular with South Korea both nations have a complete change in leadership, so it's an excellent chance to seek some compromises, but with the island issues I'm more pessimistic than optimistic anything will come of these talks.

smithinjapan, politicians often say one thing during elections and do something else after being elected. It is one of those universal things. I wish that Prime Minister Abe leads the way for Japan to drop all claims to the Liancourt Rocks. Dropping claim will go a long way to restoring good relations. As for the Peoples Republic of China, perhaps the islands can be split with some going to each claiming country. The one requirement is the islands have no military on them and yes this includes the sdf. As for Russia perhaps the 2 island return is best. Russia allowing island inhabitants to return under their rule. I do not see a lot of Japanese people wanting to live there.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and the rest of the Japanese car makers must be piling the pressure on Abe.

Abe says he wants good relations with China and Korea, yet he visits Yasukuni shrines, denies comfort women, etc. I wonder if he faces a kind of serious inner conflicts. Basically what this tells us is that he will do anything to please others.

I don't necessarily think that Japan needs to drop claims to the islands. It's probably better if both countries just forgot about the whole thing. It's not important enough to seriously strain the relations.

Thomas the Liancourt rocks are not worth the heartache. You can not win all of your disputes. This one has the least value to claim and the most reward to stop claiming. The fishermen who claim it have to get over it. Maybe the Japanese government can give them some compensation money.

" Incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged to seek a thaw in ties with China after a report said he will send a special envoy on a fence-mending mission to Beijing. "

Ridiculous. The Chinese regime does not want "fence-mending", it wants surrender. I hope he does not do that. Appeasing totalitarian regimes has never worked.... remember Chaimberlain, declaring he had achieved "peace in our time"?

The "senkakus" belong to China. Read at

http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/4085/1/thesis_fulltext.pdf and

http://www.skycitygallery.com/japan/diaohist.html

Yuri: "smithinjapan, politicians often say one thing during elections and do something else after being elected."

I was obviously stating the obvious. I know politicians the world-over do this. What's perhaps more subtle is that I was pointing out that Abe, while trying to appeal to everyone, is shaping up to be a bigger failure than Hatoyama; the 'wink' and "trust me" won't fly with the two sides in question here, especially when dealing with right-wingers on both sides. The promises he made that got him voted in this time were nationalistic promises to stick it to China and anyone else who poses a 'new Japan' (with an old PM), but now he is trying to appeal to nations that oppose such radical policies. So while he can reverse his rhetoric in international circles it'll kill him back home, and he's going to be forced to make things WORSE than they already are to try and keep from bombing worse than he did last time. In other words, we'll see him flip-flop within a week.

WilliB: "Ridiculous. The Chinese regime does not want "fence-mending", it wants surrender."

Unlike the 'hawks' here, eh, Willi? What did Abe get voted in on, BTW?

One moment Abe says he is going to be tough with China. Or didnt he? Now hes saying he wants to fix things up. He jumps from pillar to post, this guy.

Peace not. War .. World war 2 is a lesson learned by Japan , it won't happen again that Japan won't go to war in any country if it does it will be with the blessing of many countries & supported by many countries ...

avigator which China? How can there be a compromise is China (both) wants everything? China claims the entire ocean almost to Okinawa. They claim not just the islands but the Ryukyu trench as well. Right up to the 12 mile limit, so compromise to Peoples Republic of China is the same as surrender.

Just as tumultuous island rows are nearing to an end before 2012 closes,we can hope that three new leaders in Asia will strive for more peace in Asia!