A regular lecture hosted by the Asia Research Institute (fourth floor, Palaceside Building) was held recently at the Imperial Hotel. The speaker was former Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa. With Sino-Japanese relations shaken by the Senkaku Islands issue, many from business, government, and politics listened intently to the former ambassador who was in the thick of it.

　Looking back on his tenure from June 2010 through December 2012, he said, "Chinese people's grievances toward Japan will not disappear for a hundred years. Japanese views of China may be the same. Still, we must keep trying to deepen understanding through exchanges among young people." On the Senkaku focus, he offered a personal view: "Historically, resolving territorial disputes is extremely difficult. There are three ways: talk, buy and sell territory, or war. There is no example of resolution by talk, and sale is impossible. War is foolish. So what we can do now is one thing—take a 'time-out.' A very busy 'time-out' spent discussing crisis management."

　Sino-Japanese relations opened by Prime Minister Tanzan Ishibashi (55th) culminated in the 1972 Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Premier Zhou Enlai. Until the 96th cabinet there were twists and turns, but many worked to deepen friendship step by step. "May today's politicians and citizens destroy that heavy history? We must avoid war starting from accident at all costs," he stressed.

　"China has developed economically but will not catch up with Japan. That comes down to worker education. The quality and safety of Japanese products are absolutely impossible for China's workers now—they are not yet educated for it. If Japan relies on non-regular employees for production, product quality may not be maintained. We must not be complacent about that alone," he also warned domestically.