Breakthrough - Japanese Military Brings Aid to China

More than sixty years after World War II, Japan's military has returned to Chinese soil for the first time. Today, however, instead of rape, murder and terror, the Japanese are bringing blankets and emergency food supplies for victims of the Sichuan Earthquake.

During the Second World War, Japanese troops in China massacred civilians and committed atrocities by the thousands. Since that time, the two countries have had a prickly relationship, to say the least. Japan has vacillated between apologizing half-heartedly and completely denying the war crimes its troops committed during the occupation of China.

Given this history, it's almost unbelievable that China has allowed a Japanese destroyer, the Sazanami, to dock at Zhanjiang with aid for earthquake victims. Hopefully, this signals the start of a new rapprochement between the (understandably) distant neighbors.

Photo of Japanese monk Iwata Ryuzou, praying for forgiveness before the bones of Chinese war crimes victims in Jilin, China. Copyright 2006, China Photos / Getty Images.