Symposium is hoped to improve bilateral ties

It was like "love at first sight". In 2005, when China-Japan relations deteriorated, China Daily and Japan's Genron NPO, an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit think tank, met and came up with the idea of co-sponsoring the Beijing-Tokyo Forum to build a platform for opinion leaders, including journalists and people from business, politics and academia, from both sides. The forum has witnessed ups and downs in the two nations' relations in the past decade, turning out to be one of the most important non-governmental channels to discuss the issues standing in the way of the ties. The 10th forum in Tokyo on Sept 28 and 29 will again serve as a venue for seeking solutions to address the challenge that is critically worse than it was in 2005.

Here are excerpts of an interview with Genron NPO President Yasushi Kudo:

What do you expect from the 10th Beijing-Tokyo Forum?

The latest opinion polls found that people in Japan and China have increasingly bad feelings about each other's country, leaving the bilateral relations unstable. Public opinion sways the governments' decisions. The polls also found a sense of crisis and urgency in the people of the two countries. They hoped that the relations would be improved. Should this sense become the impetus for a better relationship between the two countries? I have expectations of that.

The latest data showed that Chinese tourists make up the majority of foreign travelers visiting Japan. How do you interpret these Chinese tourists and public opinion?

The fact that an increasing number of Chinese tourists are visiting Japan displays the sober-mindedness of some people in China. Though the two-way feelings of the two countries are getting worse, it shouldn't necessarily mean that the Japan-China relations will not pull through. I hope that the relations will change for the better.

Ten years ago, you quit your job as a journalist and started working on promoting the bilateral relations by feeling the pulse of people in the two countries. Are you satisfied with your efforts?

I've realized that dialogue is possible for the two sides. Also, we've built a high-level platform, at which Chinese and Japanese scholars and veteran government officials can have debate on the bilateral ties. Whatever difficult situation the relations are facing, non-governmental groups have always been making efforts to improve the ties. I call it opinion-based diplomacy.

Unfortunately, we have not had tangible gains. But we should continue to work hard at the platform for the sake of a better relationship and peace in Asia. We need to find where our common interests are.

The 10th year is a turning point for the forum as well as a new starting point for climbing a higher mountain.

How do you think of the Beijing-Tokyo Forum?

In the past decade, the Beijing-Tokyo Forum has built a wide network, which is unusual in the rest of the world. We should work harder to maintain that network.

I hope the pulse of people and the cooperation between the two countries can set the stage for development in East Asia.

The forum is a historic enterprise. I'm proud of it.

How did you deal with the challenges when co-sponsoring the forum?

It is in fact a challenge to coordinate with China on the forum. But I've seen the advantages in the country, which has a wide vision. People like to talk about philosophy, ideals and the future. I am into it.

Some commentators in Japan say that the China-Japan relationship is irrelevant to them, and they are out of touch with the issue. It is wrong to act like that. Ten years ago, I was a commentator rather than a China specialist. The ties deteriorated. I want to do what I can to push the relations forward.

Genron NPO is having a similar forum in South Korea. How is it going?

A: Similarly, people in Japan and South Korea have bad feelings toward each other's country. Japan has deteriorating relations with its two close neighbors. Tokyo needs to look into its soul and solve the problem.

For Japan, better relationships with China and South Korea can help it move forward on the road to preserve peace. Japan is supposed to set an example in this regard.

The opinion polls done in the three countries can create conditions for improving Japan's relations with China and South Korea.

It is amazing that the forum has been done for a decade. What are your thoughts?

In the beginning, I was not confident about the project, which was designed to bring people of the two countries to the table. But they spoke their mind freely when they were together for the forum. I've found that as long as they have dialogue, they can make it. Divided as they were, they have been trying to seek common ground in the past decade. I was moved by the way they debated. As the discussions were broadcast live online, people in Japan got a fair idea of the Chinese side's pursuit of solutions and peace with Japan.

I've concluded that we can do significant discussions with China, even over difficult issues. Take the Diaoyu Islands, which the two sides have their own views on. They, however, have had sincere debate on the issue and agreed to prevent tensions from flaring.

With the experience in the decade, I want more people to know the dialogue between Japan and China. Now I'm aiming bigger.