Opinions?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st..._as/china_japan

From a geopolitical standpoint, I think this was bound to happen at some point as China gained economic power. I do not think the issues are what are being stated. I think the real issue is political and economic dominance in Asia.

I really do not care which one emerges as the stronger. However, I believe that this is a further example of China moving from a closed, socialistic society, to a more open one with a growing market economy.

I think it is incumbent on the US to maintain some distance, while ensuring that things do not get out of hand. Let them work it out, but be ready to be an honest broker if and when one is needed.

Does China care about Japan being on the security council.. What is Japan's attitude toward N. Korea? What is Japan's relation with Taiwan?

"he Chinese government has never done anything that wronged the Japanese people"

Perhaps allowing the Chinese protestors to do damage to the embassy and perhaps threaten the status of the Japanese living in China?

There is a very deep historical scar left in China by Japan.

While some Westerners might like to think of it as an excuse that the Chinese political leadership uses off-and-on to pick on Japan, to the Chinese (and Korean) people who have lived through the atrocities committed by Japan in World War II, the pain was immense and unforgettable. To draw a parallel with the Holocaust... imagine your loved ones fell victim to the Holocaust and now the German government says the Holocaust never happened, and write their history text books as such.

That statement is consistent with my observation -- many Chinese, whether those from mainland China or 2nd generation oversea Chinese, really do not believe that the Japanese have owned up to their war crimes. Don't get me wrong... observing Chinese who live abroad, most Chinese can get along with Japanese people just fine, but it gets their blood boiling whenever the topic on Japan's WWII invasion of China comes up.

Don't really want to dig up old wounds but if you are not aware of what happened, here is a book that might point you to the right direction.
http://www.irischang.net/
It's not only a Chinese pain. You can also ask a Korean. The US shares some blame as well.

I think that it's interesting to note that the U.S. was actually China's ally during the war with Japan.

Some might argue that that is the relationship that dragged the U.S. into the second world war.

If you want a measure of the relative feeling toward Japan, I visited the China National Military Aviation museum back in February, and there were several WW 2 era planes displayed with Nationalist emblems (planes of U.S. origin) next to (Russian built) planes carrying th Communist emblem. When I asked about the Nationalist aircraft, the answer was something along the lines of - "of course we display them equally, they were Chinese, fighting for China against the Japanese too."

It runs pretty deep.

People may wish to read the book The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa, a recent fictional story about a Japanese spy who starts a game of go with a precocious Chinese girl in the public square, during WWII. Eventually his unit is sent in to round up partisans in the area, and she is captured ... and the rest is best left to your imagination. A very good read, and a very good ending.