Japan, China to Set Up Environmental Fund: Report

Reviewed by Takahiro MIYAO

Article:
Japan, China to Set Up Environmental Fund: Report
AFP (12/25/2007)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jxcGPV1waQdv1ofzfQ1QGFK0Yp5Q

Comments:

A new era for Japan-China relations seems to be arriving after a long period of antagonism and animosity between the two countries. In fact, it is reported that on his visit to Beijing, Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda plans to propose a joint fund of about 200 billion yen with China for the purpose of promoting cooperation between the two nations, for example, in dealing with China's environmental problems.

This seems to be the best way to keep supporting the Chinese economy from Japan's standpoint, because there has been mounting criticism against Japan's unilateral assistance to China among the Japanese public in recent years, whereas Japan's environment-related technologies are not only quite advanced but also very much applicable to the kind of industrial pollution that China is suffering from. Therefore, establishment of a joint fund between the two countries, which can lead to application of Japan's environmental technologies, sounds like an excellent idea.

A possible problem would be the sustainability of Japan's commitment in this kind of diplomacy in view of political instability within Japan. If the LDP is defeated in the upcoming general election, at least part of the promises made by Mr. Fukuda could not be kept under the next administration. That might reverse the current trend in the Japan-China relationship, of course, depending on the policy stance of Japan's new leader as well as the general sentiment of the Japanese public toward China in the future.

Acknowledgment:
This review is adopted from the following blog (with its Japanese translation):
http://glocom.blog59.fc2.com/blog-date-20071225.html