Many analysts argued that the recent natural disaster in Japan would create an opportunity to improve the often-troubled diplomatic relations between China and Japan.

This hope flowed from the idea that there is such a thing as ‘disaster diplomacy’.

Despite many positive signs, however, a close look at China’s response reveals a more nuanced story.

As I suggest in this recent post on The Diplomat, ‘Disaster diplomacy hasn’t transformed the overall picture of Sino-Japanese relations — in fact, disaster diplomacy itself is actually shaped by broad international and domestic political relationships’.

Miwa Hirono