Coronavirus: China and Japan's relationship warming up amid outbreak

The relation between Japan and China is softening amid the new coronavirus outbreak. According to reports, Japan Youth Development Association (JYDA) sent boxes filled with face masks and thermometres to China as a humanitarian gesture. The boxes had a message that read, "Even though we live in different places, we live under the same sky," which reportedly is an ancient poem that was sent by a grandson of the Japanese emperor 1,300 years ago to a high ranking Chinese monk called Ganjin. 

Softening relations between China and Japan

The poem went viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama shared it with his followers on Twitter. Earlier this month, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson lauded Japan for help amid the virus outbreak. The relation between Japan and China has not been at its best since the turn of the century, however, that changed after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China in 2018 and became the first head of the state to visit Beijing in seven years. As per reports, the visit was credited with the decline in the negative impression that the Chinese citizens had about Japan from 92% to 52%. 

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Relations between Japan and China had soured after the end of World War II as Chinese citizens accused Tokyo of brutal war crimes committed by their soldiers during the occupation. According to reports, more than 32,000 Chinese citizens were killed in Japanese airstrikes from 1934 to 1942 and an estimated 3,00,000 people were murdered by the Japanese Imperial Army, which later came to be known as Nanjing Massacre. However, relations have started to improve since Sinzo Abe's state visit to China and as per reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit Tokyo in April this year. Few media reports also suggest that the growing friendship between China and Japan is also the direct result of Trump's declaration of the trade war on the second and third largest economies in the world.

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According to reports, Japan's private sector had donated over 3 million masks as well as 43.96 million yuan ($6.3 million) in monetary donations as of February 18 despite the growing threat of coronavirus spread in their own country. The new coronavirus also known as COVID-19 has claimed more than 2,700 lives across the globe and has infected over 81,000 people since December 2019. According to reports, nearly 27 people have died outside mainland China, which makes it the worst disease outbreak of the 21st century. 

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Lead Image Credit: AP