There are two all-important tasks the third Abe administration must undertake: overcoming deflation through "Abenomics" and the genuine overhaul of Japan-China relations following the recent meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping.
As for the second task, the Japanese and Chinese governments, ahead of the Abe-Xi talks held in Beijing last November, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, issued a "Four Point Consensus."
The third point of this joint statement reads as follows: "Both sides recognized that they had different views as to the emergence of tense situations in recent years in the waters of the East China Sea, including those around the Senkaku Islands, and shared the view that, through dialogue and consultation, they would prevent the deterioration of the situation, establish a crisis management mechanism and avert the rise of unforeseen circumstances." In short, Japan and China have confirmed that they will "agree to disagree" with regard to the "tense situation" in the East China Sea.