
Yes. You are absolute right.
Japan is in fact a pseudonym for "New China" or more precisely "Super Chinese". These guys are in fact descendants or refugees from the Qin Emperor much like the Hakka in the rest of the provinces in China as well as ASEAN hence we can see the similarities in cultural habits and practices from that era.
The Japanese rightists dream of a UNITED EAST ASIA with Tokyo as its capital as in ancient time. (Let not forget Shinzo Abe was a minister in the WW2 war cabinet.)
A annexed Hawaii in 1898, a strategic location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean having seen how the expansionist Meiji Japan Imperial Army started extending its influence across the Pacific e.g. Yap Island. President Woodtrow vowed to started a war with Japan to defend this island which was occupied by USA.
When Hawaii was annexed, Japan send her naval warship to Hawaii in protest over the annexation in 1898. After Japan itself had just annexed the Ryuku Kingdom followed by China's Taiwan Island in 1895.
Many Japanese still dream of those GLORIOUS DAYS but it will never happened again.
Realistically Japan should returned the Diaoyutai islands she seized in 1985 as marked in the milestone on those islands back to China and peace as well as her security will be ensured. With that China and Japan will no longer have any island ownership dispute.
Unless Japan is worried that it is now China's turn to annex her as Japan did back then in late 1800's and during WW2. In history, China was never an aggressor and did not had a record of expansion otherwise all the small states in the region in ASEAN e.g. Sultanate of Malacca, Sultanate of Sulu, Surubaya, etc would be colonized and occupied like what Japan did during WW2 Japan using the excuse of driving out the imperialist Western Colonialists although no states had ever invited her. In history Japan became the bigger monster instead.
China & Japan was enjoying a great bilateral relationship with rising trade and all the historical acrimony set aside due to the agreement between Mao and Tanaka until US Sec of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Sec. of State Hilliary Clintons came and stoke the region.
I remember not so long after his tango with devil-woman Hilliary Clintons, Japan FM Mihara admitted he ordered the arrest of all Chinese Fishing vessels that fishing in their traditionally fishing area in the disputed island of Diaoyutai. That started the feud that Japan up till today cannot called off.
There is NO MUCH OPTION and MOVE left for Japan if she proceed with her present route.
Lacking in strategic resources and without the goodwill of China, Japan will be totally at the mercy of USA whether she likes it or not. That is why many pacifists inside Japan disagreed with Shinzo Abe revision of war constitution that will prove to be the downfall of Japan in the future if war ever breaks out. Esp. now since his Abeconomics as well as QE is not working and Japan is contracting.

It would be a miracle if Japan with her downgrade and obsolete weaponries which she acquired from USA in the 70's can MATCH those from China military today e.g. the APG63 on Japan F15J has only a detection range 120 km and its downgrade AIM120 missile has only an effective range of 95 km. Any J10A or J11B which could easily detected their adversaries up to 300km away can destroyed their enemy with their 195 km PL-12 away. So far due to budget constraints, Japan has managed to upgarde 12 unit of F15J whose airframe lifespan has almost expired. So we would be surprised if Japanese SDF F-15J pilot may need to fly home in a single wing.