China turns its back on Japan

The dramatic last-minute cancellation of a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting Chinese Vice Prime Minister Wu Yi has plunged relations between Beijing and Tokyo to a perilous new low. The incident indicates that recent efforts to improve battered bilateral ties have collapsed, and highlights the complete deadlock over Koizumi’s contentious annual pilgrimages to the war-tainted Yasukuni Shrine, the issue which forms the backbone of Beijing’s criticisms of his administration.