South Korean President Lee Myung-bak landed Friday on the Dokdo Islands, known as Takeshima in Japan. Lee's visit came at a time when Japan, the US and South Korea are strengthening their ties. A new round of disputes between Japan and South Korea over territory has started.

When Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara offered to buy the Diaoyu Islands in April, there were voices saying Japan would be hoist by its own petard and that it would harm the relationship between Japan and its neighboring countries. Hard-line and unilateral means cannot solve territorial disputes.

Japan demilitarized after World War II and pursued peaceful development. But recently, Japan has taken a surprisingly tough and presumptuous attitude toward the Diaoyu Islands dispute, trying to make a small island issue into a huge regional entanglement.

Japan's selfishness has stimulated its neighbors like Russia and South Korea, to take hard-line attitudes too.

Even Taiwan leadership, which usually takes a mild attitude toward Japan, has changed to a more hard-line attitude. Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou has publicly stated his stance on the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands.

Some believe Japan takes such tough stances because of the backing from the US. But it is the US that will potentially be embarrassed most by Japan's actions, as Washington has no desire for a war with China.

After Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced plans to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands, the US was astonished and consulted with Japan right afterward.

Japan is escalating the tensions in the East China Sea, but it is the US that has to bear the consequences. The US will not be easily pushed by Japan, but it still feels caught in a quandary. War is unlikely between China and the US, both of which are strategic stakeholders that have benefited from peaceful development after the Cold War.

The US does not want to see a strong China, nor does it want to be isolated from close Sino-Japanese ties.

Yet meanwhile, the US has no desire to start a war with China, pushed by conflicts between China and Japan, and risk the collapse of the alliances among the US, South Korea and Japan. Japan should have a clear grasp of the current situation.

Moreover, historical memory has been influencing Japan's mentality toward its neighbors. Tokyo should be cautious when dealing with victims of World War II like China and South Korea. It's time for Japan to pull back over territorial disputes before it is too late.

The author is deputy director of the Tokyo-based Japan-China Communication Institute. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn