The first sweeping review of Japan's generous official development assistance for China is under way within the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, amid growing domestic criticism of such aid.
Even as the review enters its final phase toward the yearend deadline, it is still uncertain whether the LDP-led government will go so far as to take the plunge and chop China-bound ODA for the first time since Japan began such aid to its giant, Communist-ruled neighbor nearly two decades ago.
China, an ascendant military and economic power, is widely seen as posing the biggest potential threat to security in East Asia in the medium and long term. It is already ranked seventh in the world in terms of gross domestic product, a total output of goods and services. GDP is often cited as a major barometer of a nation's economic strength.