On Sept. 29, Japan and China marked the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations. Unfortunately, bilateral ties are in a sorry state, with mutual distrust the deepest since ties were normalized due to a dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Leaders of both countries should go back to the spirit and wisdom that their predecessors demonstrated when they normalized diplomatic relations in 1972, and when they signed a peace treaty eight years later, and verbally agreed to shelve the Senkaku Islands sovereignty issue.

Forty years ago, then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signed the joint Japan-China statement in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. In it, Japan made clear "its responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war and deeply reproached itself," and both countries agreed that "the normalization of relations and development of good-neighborly and friendly relations between the two countries are in the interests of the two peoples and will contribute to the relaxation of tension in Asia and peace in the world."

During the welcome dinner for Tanaka, he agreed to Zhou's call for "sinking the differences (between the two countries) for the sake of the common good." Although the Senkaku Islands issue was taken up, both leaders did not delve deeply into it and agreed to postpone discussions on it.