小泉的继任者，安倍晋三和福田康夫首相，过去两年来一直试图改善与中国的关系，中日双方召开了北京峰会，而且去年中国总理温家宝的访日取得了成功。
Koizumi’s successors, Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda, have sought to engage China over the past two years, with summits in Beijing and a successful visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Japan last year.