Far more important to Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors are their increasing economic ties and shared interests as members of an increasingly interactive and interdependent community, Takanori Kitamura, Japan's consul-general to Hong Kong, told United Press International.

Koizumi's chief concern in selecting his Cabinet was to push forward with reforms including the postal privatization for which he received a popular mandate in the recent election, not to project a hawkish image to his neighbors.

As for the shrine visit, Koizumi chose to make his annual pilgrimage to pay respects to Japan's war dead ahead of important regional bilateral and multilateral meetings. He gambled that his Asian neighbors would not over-react and jeopardize the chances for progress at the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Forum in South Korea, or the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs in Beijing, or next month's East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

His judgment appears to have been correct. Despite vociferous protests immediately after the shrine visit from South Korea and China, the planned regional agendas are all on track, though Koizumi may have to forego private meetings with either South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun or Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of this month's APEC meeting.

Koizumi says he visits the shrine to pray for his country's 2.5 million war dead and to pray for peace, rituals that are a deep part of Japan's Shinto tradition with its respect for ancestors. No bodies are interred at the shrine, although the names of those who died in wars are listed, including 14 convicted war criminals.

China's leaders, officially atheist and cynical about all religion, which they invariably view as a form of politics, say that Koizumi is actually trying to revive a spirit of militarism and aggression that could be turned against his neighbors.

South Korea, where ancestors are also respected, has proposed that Japan build an official secular site to honor its war dead, excluding war criminals. Koizumi has said he will consider this, and 66 percent of Japanese approve the idea, according to a poll by the Mainichi Daily News published Friday.

Koizumi's circumspect behavior during his brief visit to Yasukuni on Oct. 17 earned him a domestic approval rating just over 50 percent, the same polls shows. The results, a reversal of previous recent polls, reflect a growing desire on the part of the Japanese to stand up to China, particularly following anti-Japan demonstrations in China last spring.

The challenge is for Japan to find and assert its own identity in a region where it was once a feared military power, then a respected economic giant, but increasingly appears to be eclipsed by China.

If China sees itself as the rising power in Asia, headed for economic, political and eventually military dominance in the region, Japan sees itself as a harmonizing and cooperative force in the region, Kitamura says, ready to contribute its economic power and technical expertise to a rising Asian community.

Japan's vision for Asia would see the emergence of an East Asian Community that would rival the European Union in terms of economic and political power. Kitamura sees the first East Asia Summit set to take place in Malaysia next month as a test case to discover if China and the other nations in the East Asia Forum grouping are really ready to work together. The group includes the 10 ASEAN nations plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

"There is already good integration in the region, and a lot of room for agreement and cooperation," Kitamura says. Areas of potential expanded cooperation include fighting piracy and terrorism, planning for natural disasters, environmental protection and non-military security issues, not to mention moving toward a regional free trade agreement.

The European Union, he points out, began with cooperation in coal, steel and nuclear power, and took 40 years to reach its current state of development.

A desire to play a more constructive role in Asia and the world is behind Japan's push for a seat on the U.N. Security Council, Kitamura says. He envisions China and Japan eventually working together in international organizations. "Logically, China and Japan are two big neighbors. We should take responsibility for this region," he says.

In economic terms, relations between the two are already very cozy. China became Japan's biggest trading partner, surpassing the United States, in 2004. Japan exported $94.2 billion worth of goods to China, and imported $73.8 billion from China. Japan's direct investment in China totaled $66.6 billion through 2004.

Recent political conflicts appear to have had no impact on economic relations. During the anti-Japan demonstrations in China in April, Japanese companies worried about their investments in the country. Six months later, business is booming.

Areas of potential conflict cannot be ignored, however, especially their long-term impact on regional security. Issues such as competition for natural gas and oil resources in the East China Sea are basically business deals, Kitamura says, to be worked out through negotiations.

The ultimate question is whether China's and Japan's visions of Asia's future are compatible. If China aims to become a regional superpower, conflict with Japan is inevitable. China's critics view its drive to develop its military as part of its determination to surpass Japan in military, as well as economic, might.

Analysts believe Japan's Self-Defense Forces could defeat China's air and naval forces in a conflict, without U.S. assistance. But U.S. State Department and Pentagon estimates say China is spending between $70 and $90 billion this year to upgrade its military in an effort to close the gap. China denies this, insisting its military budget is only $30 billion, two-thirds of Japan's.

Then there is the issue of the United States and its role in Asia. Japan would like to see the United States included in an East Asian Community, but China opposes the idea. Other members of the group are divided, and the United States seems willing to stand back and watch, for the time being, to see what comes of the East Asia Summit.

Deputy U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Eric John recently referred to the summit as a "black box" without a clearly defined purpose. "But once the forum begins to take form, we will study how we can engage. Until that time, I would hesitate to push for an invitation to an organization when we don't know what it does," he said.

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