Boosting ties with India
In India, meanwhile, favorable ratings break down to 31 percent for China and 43 percent for Japan. Relations between Tokyo and New Delhi are noticeably warming, driven by a perception of a deeper reciprocity.
"India and Japan are working to operationalize what was a good but dormant relationship in order to exploit its full potential," says Rajiv Kumar, at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. "India is also hedging its bets to avoid being too reliant on, or dominated by, the huge power of China."
“For both sides [India and Japan], the economics are more important than security,†adds Dr. Kumar. “There's a big investment opportunity for Japan, and there's a very large potential payoff for India in terms of modernizing its technology and infrastructure."
That formula is also a key to normalizing relations with Myanmar, which was occupied by Japan when it was British Burma.
Development aid, forgiving sovereign debt, and sharing of technology have all contributed to the relationship between Japan and Burma, according to Professor Chaw Chaw Sein, head of the international relations department at the University of Yangon.
"We suffered under Japanese occupation, but unlike Korea and China, we can forget," says Prof. Chaw Chaw, who notes that her grandparents' generation is not so forgiving. “The new generation has no anti-Japanese feelings."
China, for its part, was an ally during Myanmar's military-socialist era, but now, in many parts of Myanmar, there’s skepticism about Chinese business ventures, real estate purchases and attitudes towards mutual benefit.
"When Japanese companies invest, they bring technology with them. It's different with the Chinese – their investments only benefit China, not Myanmar," says Chaw Chaw.
Japan's generous official development assistance (ODA) spending went a long way in building bridges with the victims of its imperial aggression, according to Yasayuki Ishida of The Japan Institute of International Affairs think tank.
"Even though the Philippines and Singapore suffered greatly during the war, they appreciate Japan's efforts in helping them and other ASEAN nations to develop since," says Dr. Ishida.
To be sure, ODA has not always been a panacea for establishing better relations.
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