As China and Japan mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations this week, trade between the neighbors is still growing in leaps and bounds -- often fuelled by Tokyo's fears over the rise of Chinese economic might.
In the first three months of the year, Japanese direct investment into China jumped 64 percent to ?180.2 billion (US$1.45 billion), with the figure expected to soar further as a slew of Japanese industrial and technology giants rush into China.
Last week, Nissan Motors inked a US$1billion joint venture manufacturing project in China.
This followed close on the heels of an announcement late last month by rival Toyota Motor Corp to invest billions of dollars in manufacturing cars in China.
"I have been watching China with great interest. To be honest with you, I think China is a great threat [to Japan]," Toyota chairman Hiroshi Okuda told reporters in Tokyo earlier this month.
As his company was pouring money into China, Okuda urged the government to cut corporate taxes to support research and development, and called on Jap-anese manufacturers to maintain their advantage over China in state-of-the-art technologies.
Such sentiments have been frequent this year as Japan's economy remains gripped in stagnation and increasing joblessness and as the two former foes mark their 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties on Sunday.
Although most mutual rows still center on Japan's wartime actions, politicians on both sides have had to play down the so-called "China threat" to Tokyo's economic future.
Besides Toyota and Nissan, other major Japanese automakers like Honda, Mitsubishi and Mazda have all announced plans to boost car production and sales in China.
Meanwhile Hitachi, Toshiba and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, are also investing heavily to capture Chinese market share.
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