Japan relishes chance as ‘good guy’

“The comparison between Japan and China can be a good one for Tokyo, when it comes to showcasing democracy and values,” Cossa said.

Japan has uneasy ties with China and South Korea owing to the legacy of Japanese aggression and occupation of several Asian nations.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been trying to repair relations with its neighbors and has invited Presidents Hu Jintao and China and Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea to an extended session of the summit.

But Japan has made clear it has no enthusiasm for growing calls to expand the G-8 to include China, India or other rising emerging economies.

“I think this is a comfortable format for Japan, so we will continue to put emphasis on this format,” a senior Japanese foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“We share common values and it is a format in which leaders can discuss in a very cordial and frank manner,” he said.

Japan, the world’s largest economy after the United States, has been trying in vain for years to acquire a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, whose structure reflects the power balance at the end of World War II.

China scuttled the most serious bid in 2005, arguing that Japan has not sufficiently atoned for its imperialist past.

“Japan’s position in the G-8 as the only Asian power is a source of pride for Japan,” said Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University.

“So Japan wouldn’t be happy if China entered the G-8. And Japan is also returning the favor to China over the U.N. Security Council,” he said.

But he doubted Japan could hold back the tide. Despite recent high-profile aid pledges, Japan’s overall assistance budget has been declining in recent years as it tries to contain a giant public debt, a hangover from recession in the 1990s.

“Japan’s leadership was based on being the only democracy in East Asia. But now South Korea and Taiwan are as well and China’s economic presence is growing larger,” Shigemura said.

“Eventually G-8 members will be forced to consider China’s entry and when that happens, it will show the decline of Japan.”

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