@jkroo-sama ,
There is a proverbial saying in Japanese :
七転び八起き and it can be translated as :
" If you fall down 7 times, Then stand up 8 times. "
What is the significance of this? The significance of this can be applied to us in a personal self reflection and can also be applied for nation states'. Sure, if you look at the interaction between Tokyo and Beijing since the normalization of ties in 1978 , through the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, there have been so many agreements, directives, some have been successful, some have resulted in failure. But that should not limit instances of both sides to find an agreement , or a compromise to an issue. If we lived in say 1972, Japanese and Chinese would have never thought it possible that a treaty of peace and friendship would be passed. If we lived in 1980, it probably would not have been thought possible that there would be a Joint Fishery Agreement between Tokyo and Beijing. Or had we lived in the 1990s, perhaps it wouldn't have been thought of conceivable to have a 2008 Joint Consensus to develop Chunxiao. But the truth of the matter is, it is possible, both sides have to try to keep on working at it. We shouldn't succumb to fatalistic viewpoints, but be always positive.
Japan has come a long way these past 60 some years. And I don't think it will be possible , in our lifetime that is, for there to be complete resolution for the ties between our two countries and our two peoples. But what we can do is to build a culture that will eventually lead to that. Perhaps it will be our grandchildren, or great grand children or even great great grand childrens' generation that will see this. But that's the beauty of the dream and goal.
That said, Let's never stop getting up.
七転び八起き (Nana korobi yaoki) : "If you fall down 7 times, then stand up 8 times !"