May 23, 2017

"The first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation convened in Beijing on May 14 and 15, gathering together 29 heads of state and government. However, although he is not a state leader, the head of the Japanese delegation Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, also became the focus of media coverage of the grand convention. As a leading figure of Japan's ruling party, Nikai presented a letter from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Chinese President Xi Jinping and said to the media that Japan should become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at an early date. It is nothing new that countries are eager to join the AIIB considering its sound performance since its establishment, but the shift from rejection to recognition in Japan's attitude deserves deliberation in view of its resistance during China's preparation of AIIB and now the ruling party leader showing enthusiasm toward the bank.

The primary factor behind this is the continuous growth of the Chinese economy which triggered a change in Japan's perception of China to some degree. Following the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, the US had long been one of the most important global order makers. Japan thus became the core country in East Asia due to its economic recovery and the Japan-US military alliance. Japan enjoyed this position in the international community. Nevertheless, China's GDP overtook that of Japan for the first time in 2010 and in 2013 almost reached twice the size of Japan's GDP. China is now the most powerful engine for development of the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, Japan is no longer the core of East Asia and sees China's growth as a challenge to the old Asia-Pacific order."

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http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1048301.shtml