News Analysis: For Japan, there are better reasons to join AIIB

For a group of economists and diplomats here, Japan has better reasons to join the China- proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as the major Asian power could take the golden opportunity to mend its strained ties with China in the special year that marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Since several major European countries, including Britain, Germany and France, have defied U.S. advice and applied successively for membership in recent days, Japan, facing the dramatic change, seemed to be uneasy now and began to loosen its tight stance over whether or not to participate in by saying there is room for discussion.

"Timing is everything. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and there will be a lot of commemorative events held around the world," Ling Xingguang, an honorary professor at the Fukui Prefecture University, told a press briefing here Friday, adding "It is a good opportunity for the two countries to create a new era for bilateral relations" if Japan could join the AIIB quickly.

He called the participation in the AIIB a political decision and urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe take the "perfect timing" to join the new multilateral development bank. "Japan should immediately express its decision in favor of AIIB," said Ling, who is also the director at the Research Institute for Japan-China Relations.

Ling is among the 10-member group which also includes five Japanese experts and former diplomats and four Chinese scholars working in Japan. The group filed a suggestion letter to Finance Minister Taro Aso recently in a move to urge the Japanese government to decide quickly to participate in the AIIB at an early date.

"Japan maintains a close relationship with China and is also a major power in Asia. Therefore, Japan should reconsider its decision on whether or not joining the AIIB," said the letter, emphasizing that "Japan should not passively wait for China to resolve the 'transparency' questioned by Japan about the AIIB, it should actively involve in and help resolve the issue."

China said earlier this month that the offer of being a founding member of the AIIB is still open for Japan and a China's Foreign Ministry spokesman also said Friday that China welcomes all willing countries that want to participate, referring to reports that said Aso suggested Japan had eased its stance against the AIIB.

Japan maintained a cautious attitude toward the AIIB at the beginning. "It is very strange for Japan to oppose China's new initiative of the AIIB," said Makoto Taniguchi, former Japanese ambassador to UN and also the head of the panel, adding "it is a terribly stupid idea and position for Japan to oppose the AIIB."

Japan concerns over the governance and finance in the AIIB, but Makoto suggested that "Japan should join the AIIB first and then say frankly to China what Japan needs and what Japan wants in this new bank."

The former deputy secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also urged Japan not to wait for U.S. permission. "Japan should take the initiative, not depending upon the support or advices of the United States. It 's very shameful if Japan always follows U.S. advices."

The veteran diplomat added that Japan works hard with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) so that it should fully understand that the ADB is not enough to meet the tremendous needs in infrastructure construction in Asian countries. "The establishment of the AIIB is very reasonable," he said.

He said it is possible for the AIIB and ADB to cooperate and coordinate in Asia's infrastructure construction by forming a communicative mechanism in exchanging information.

"On helping infrastructure construction in Asia, both Japan and China are doing independently. It will be vast resources if Japan and China could cooperate. It is much better for Asia and for ties between Japan and China," Makoto said.

Other pundits here said that, along with decade-long experiences of cooperating with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, China has a lot of financial professionals that can make the AIIB run well and more participation of European countries in the AIIB could also make the development bank worldwide acceptable in its governance and transparency.

Vast majority of a trillion U.S. dollars of infrastructure spending a year goes to the developed countries and there is a huge deficit in such spending in emerging markets and low-income countries, according to Jim Yong Kim, chief of the World Bank.

Facing the huge Asian infrastructure market, the European countries have made their decision, with British finance minister hailing that joining the AIIB would create an unrivalled opportunity for the UK and Asia to invest and grow together.

So far, over 30 countries have applied to jointly build the bank as founding members, with Australia eyeing to become the latest. Now, for Japan, the ball is in its own hands. Endi