“Ice breaking” visit:

Wen Jiabao is the first Chinese premier to visit Japan in 7 years.

Shinzo Abe has worked vigorously to stabilize the relations. He has not visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine which is a memorial of the Japanese war heroes including 14 war criminals.

Given the tension in the region due to the nuclear programs of North Korea ,any further problems between the two countries will only exacerbate the already delicate balance of power in the area.

There are a number of unresolved issues like the dispute over the gas fields exploration rights in the East China Sea, and the Taiwan issue.

China continues to oppose Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the UNSC even as Tokyo is openly against the lifting of the EU’s arms embargo against China.

On the up side the two countries have become integrated giving both a strong stake in ensuring that even when tensions begin to simmer they are not allowed to boil over. Bilateral trade in 2006 was worth a whopping $207.4 billion. Japan has also invested some $58 billion in more than 300 projects across China.

In alliance with the US, Japan seems to be opposing the emergence of China in South East Asia. Taiwan remains a bone of contention.

Abe is seeking to have the pacifist article 9 of the Japanese constitution, which forbids the country from maintaining a standing army, revised.

Tokyo also continues to publicly cast aspersions on China’s military modernization programme and its purported lack of transparency.

During the visit all the points may be covered. Japanese energy savings technology and the resumption of Chinese rice exports will also be discussed