The dispute over Senkaku islands between Japan and China is getting tense. Many people say that China who became economically and militarily strong is exerting presure on Japan. There is no doubt about that. But I noticed that China had been considered as one of major countries in the world since long time ago when its economic and military powers were far smaller than those of Japan. The U.S. has appeared to show bigger concern about China than Japan.
I was once asked by a foreigner more than 30 years ago, "If China attacks Japan, can your country counter it ?". It seems that the influence of China on international society has been overestimated, partly because it is a permanent member of UN security council.
Japan had been the second largest economic power in terms of GDP and offered technical and economic assistances to Asian and other developping countries. Nevertheless our country could not show large presence in international society compared to China. What is wrong with us ?