The appearance of more than 200 ships harvesting precious red coral around Japan’s Ogasawara islands in November opened the eyes of many Japanese to the risks of China’s growing power. Such skepticism about China’s peaceful intentions has intensified criticism of the DPJ for what many consider an excessively soft approach to managing relations with the People’s Republic.
安倍选战的第二个重要角色是中国。11月，200多艘船只出现在日本小笠原群岛收割珍贵的红珊瑚，这让许多日本人认识到中国力量崛起的风险。这一对中国和平意图的怀疑加剧了对民主党的批评——许多人认为民主党在对华关系方针过于软弱。