From before the dawn of recorded history, there has been a rich flow of interaction between Japan and China. Japan has long learned many things from Chinese civilization, and since the modern era China began to learn from Japan. In the twenty-first century, however, China surpassed Japan in terms of GDP in 2010 to become the world's second largest economy. Amid this rapid rise of China and what has been called a power-shift in Japan-China relations, there are signs that bilateral tensions are rising and that the image each country has of the other is worsening.

This volume provides a cogent analysis of the politics of the bilateral relationship in the modern era, explaining the past, present, and future of Japan-China relations during a time of massive political, social, and economic changes. Written by a team of internationally renowned Japanese scholars and based on sources not available in English, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of Japan-China relations, Japanese international relations, and the politics and international relations of East Asia