It would be interesting to hear what the Butchers of Beijing and Rocket Boy think of this.
Abe remembered in China as controversial figure who ‘ruined own contribution to bilateral ties’
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While for the Chinese public, Abe was a controversial political figure - he had improved Japan’s relations with China, which is marked by two icebreaking trips during his second term in 2013 and 2018, yet his remarks and actions, including frequent visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine and denial of Japan’s invasion history, led to his bad reputation among Chinese public.
The first icebreaking visit was made after Japan’s ludicrous territorial claim over the Diaoyu Islands which dragged bilateral relations to abyss. His second icebreaking visit to China was in October 2018, when he attended events marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship and a forum promoting infrastructure cooperation between companies of the two countries. In 2017, Abe publicly expressed willingness to cooperate with China on the Belt and Road Initiative and said he would not rule out joining the China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
However, on December 2021, Abe, who had already left the post of prime minister, falsely claimed that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency,” a serious violation and provocation against the one-China principle, not to mention his frequent visits and tributes to the Yasukuni Shrine.
Those wrong words and deeds after Abe stepped down almost completely overturned the achievements he once made in underpinning China-Japan ties.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1270082.shtml