Social mood in East Asia

The U.S.-China spat over the South China Sea has calmed, but things are heating up between China and Japan following the incident at the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands.

China raises pressure over detained seaman

In the Chinese city of Nanjing, former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, now chairman of China's Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, canceled his participation in a China-Japan business forum. Other high-ranking officials of Jiangsu province, of which Nanjing is the capital, also pulled out.

...The Japanese foreign ministry said a scheduled trip by a group of about 1,000 young Japanese to China's Shanghai World Expo has been canceled.

A Japanese ministry representative said China had decided against the trip, which had been organized on the back of a proposal by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in May.

China halts ticket sales for Japan pop group

Two China concerts next month by Japanese pop band SMAP could fall victim to a diplomatic row between the two countries after ticket sales were suspended at the weekend, media reports said Tuesday.
The five-member pop group is scheduled to perform before some 80,000 fans at the Shanghai World Expo on October 9-10, but a Chinese ticket agency abruptly stopped selling the tickets Sunday, the Sports Nippon tabloid said.

Here's an interesting split opinion in the Western press.

China's maritime aggression should be wake-up call to Japan

Japan's Growing Assertiveness at Sea