Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is shown in?a cartoon titled "Abe's choice." [Photo/China Daily]

If Japan plays an important role in Asia's security affairs, relations between countries will deteriorate, said an article in People's Daily (excerpts below).

Although the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expresses a wish to improve relations with China, he is in fact harming Sino-Japan relations with his duplicity.

Abe told the Wall Street Journal that Japan is contributing to world stability by standing up to China.

As the second-largest global economy, China hopes that the Japanese economy will recover and contribute to global growth.

However, if Japanese leaders continue to distort history, Japan's "contribution" to the world will worsen the global situation.

How can a nation refusing to face its war crimes become a contributor to regional security and global governance? The Abe administration has gone so far in defaming China and worsening Asia's security atmosphere that it has already lost its grip on basic reality.