I'd suppose, Japan should forget its dream of a permanent seat in the United Nations. According to AP, China has just voiced out its strongest statement against Japan's bid for a greater role in the United Nations. Veto against Japan is now almost certain.

The United Nations should simply abolish veto power. It allows the interest of the few to outweigh the will of the majority; it's undemocratic to say the least.

Besides the veto issue, it's kind of weird however to see Japan not giving any ground to China, despite the importance of courting the dragon. If I were Japan, I would do what China wants and then do away with the China's pride later. But hey, it seems to me that this irrationality is the Japanese nationalists' undoing.

Well, a nationalist does what a nationalist does - most are myopic as usual. Perhaps we can't really blame China if the Japanese's bid fails.