Misperception Angle Analyzes Nearly A Decade Of Sino-japanese Relations

The Cognitive School is an important part of the micro-level research ofInternational Relations, and Robert Jervis has a considerable influence in this field. Inhis book Perception and Misperception in International Politics, he introducedseveral major mechanisms that lead to the wrong perception, including cognitiveconsistency, evoked set and history shadow, and he also pointed out a couple ofmisperception phenomena which always appears in actor’s decisions. All these studiesprovide an important complement to IR macro-level research and its influences areeven beyond people’s initial expectation. Due to the complex historical reasons, bothChina and Japan hold serious misunderstandings towards each other, which can beanalyzed and interpreted with misperception theory.With the deep historical effect caused by eight years of Sino-Japanese War andthe long time opposition during the Cold War, a negative cognitive balance emergedin both sides. Territorial disputes, historical controversy and changes of relativestrength make this balance difficult to change, sometimes even be strengthened. Thenegative influence of the collision incident at Diaoyu Island is a good example.The cognitive foreclosure or the negative interpretation make the conflict keepupgrading. Although the incident ended temporarily after the Japanese governmentreleased the captain, its follow-up impact made Sino-Japanese relations quickly fellinto a tailspin. To change this negative cognitive balance, we need to strengthenpersonnel and cultural exchanges both in depth and continuity, and focus on trainingyoung scholars with open awareness and innovative spirit. In addition, scholarsshould make joint efforts to build a theoretical framework for cooperation betweenChina and Japan. Thus, the development of Sino-Japanese relations could finally finda direction and goal.