Pino Cazzaniga

A PIME missionary describes his journey among the desolate and resigned to celebrate Palm Sunday with a community of rare peace and serenity. Sunday in Tokyo Japanese and Koreans unite in their Easter celebrations in a sign of reconciliation which the Japanese government has long sought.

About face by premier Abe, following an ambiguous declaration regarding the historical value of documents which prove the recruitment of sex slaves to service the army

This is revealed by the ambivalent attitude of Prime Minister Abe, who is stuck between the problem of Japanese kidnapped by North Koreans and participating in the six-party talks.

The law was passed in 1947, exalting democratic and pacific values in a country just defeated in war. The new law exalts “patriotism” and “tradition” to counter degradation among youth and a climbing suicide rate.

Economic relations have always been excellent, but Abe’s new diplomatic offensive is bridging the gap between the two giants of East Asia. State visits by the heads of their respective governments have been announced, but so has a joint approach to review the past. In the meantime more and more of their citizens are interested in the language and traditions of the “other”.

The North Korean bomb is causing concern, not only because its possible use, but also because it has inflicted a serious blow to the non-proliferation treaty, the only legal instrument available at international level to prevent the spread of the deadly weapons.

The main results obtained, other than a radical change in the tone of bilateral ties, were the upholding of the principle that economy and politics are "two wheels of the same cart" and commitments to build a mutual relationship "based on common strategic interests" and to block the spread of nuclear arms.

All assessment of him has been positive. For many, this is a sign of the maturity of South Korea, which entered the UN in 1991.

For all the Japanese people, the ex-prime minister "made history" with his direct style and liberalization of the economy. However, he has left behind shaky ties with China and Korea, which his successor, Shinzo Abe, is already working on.

Abe is set to succeed Koizumi as Liberal Democratic Party leader on Wednesday and then become Prime Minister. Many are hopeful he'll be able to work out Japan's main foreign policy tangle: relations with China and South Korea.

There is a crisis in relations, because of pressure exerted by Beijing to avert further steps by Pyongyang: after the missile launches, it may be considering an atomic experiment. The train of the "dear leader" has ground to a halt at the border.

The premier's visit to the Shinto shrine, where the memory of kamikaze and war criminals is preserved, on the day marking the end of the Second World War, drew vociferous criticisms from across Asia. China now awaits the post-Koizumi era.