The Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and tsunami of March 11 has altered the relationship between Japan and its neighbors, particularly the relationship with China. Given the sympathy for the plight of hundreds of thousands of residents of the Tohoku region of northeast Japan, the Chinese media's old "bash Japan into the ground" campaign has become untenable.
As for the Japanese, up to last month's tragedy they had been agonizing over a big puzzle that they had been unable to solve — none other than their "China Puzzle."
Specifically, it seemed that the newly acquired wealth and status of their mainland neighbor had flummoxed and spooked the people of these islands so thoroughly that they were experiencing a collapse of national confidence.