China Redux

No, we’re not talking about manufacturing facilities or foreign direct investment.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to send a sakaki plant to the Yasukuni Shrine, rather than visit the controversial Shinto war memorial himself.

Abe, who took office just eight months, had said in the past that he was unsure whether he would follow his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, in making annual visits to the memorial for Japan’s wartime dead, which includes Class A war criminals from World War II. Those visits became a leading source of acrimony and distrust between Japan and China.

It’s worth noting that this is not just any old plant, but a six-foot-tall sakaki, a type of evergreen used in Shinto rituals, for which Abe forked over $425 (via the NYT).

And while government spokesmen would not comment because “the offering was made by Mr. Abe as a private citizen and not in his capacity as a Japanese leader,” officials did note the plant bore a placard that read “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”

In doing so, Abe chose not to completely renounce Koizumi’s actions, but to scale them rather dramatically. It’s a sensible political compromise from Abe. And Chinese officials seemed heartened by the fact that Abe stayed away from the shrine’s grounds, if not thrilled with the $425 offering.

This should help keep Sino-Japanese relations on track following the “thawing” after Wen Jiabao’s visit in April.