Yoshihiko Noda gets a rough welcome in the Chinese press



Japan's new Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda / Reuters

In her first take on Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, my colleague Sheila Smith suggests that Mr. Noda is moderate, fair, and an experienced hand in Japanese and global financial affairs. That all sounds pretty good. But apparently from China's perspective, the new prime minister is nothing but trouble.



While Premier Wen Jiabao and the Chinese Foreign Ministry have offered up short congratulatory statements to the new prime minister, most Chinese commentary has ranged from bleak to belligerent. Chinese analysts point out that the prime minister has not renounced his comments to the effect that Class-A Japanese wartime leaders should no longer be considered criminals nor has he committed not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine. He also has made reference to China's rising nationalism and naval activities as posing a risk to regional stability. To top it all off, the new prime minister has been a strong supporter of the U.S.-Japan defense alliance.

Given the new prime minister's apparent policy predilections, it seems to me that Chinese analysts have some reason to be concerned. Indeed, many U.S. security analysts were similarly worried when Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama assumed power in 2009 with a seeming commitment to upgrading relations with China, while downgrading relations with the United States. However, while many U.S. commentators urged a "wait and see" approach to Prime Minister Hatoyama, the Chinese media have come out swinging. Xinhua noted, for example, that "though fast-burgeoning bilateral trade has made China Japan's largest trading partner since 2009, the two major powers in East Asia still run into disputes from time to time, threatening the peace and stability of the region. And Japan has to be blamed for that."

Some Chinese press have also seen fit to offer a series of recommendations to the new Japanese prime minister: