Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a senior Japanese deputy minister for foreign affairs arrived in Beijing Friday, with a letter from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to the leaders of China.

Yamaguchi's visit was seen as an attempt to repair the relationship between Japan and China, which has been undermined by a series of incidents over the Diaoyu Islands. But the impasse over the islands won't disappear any time soon.

The dispute over the Diaoyu Islands is not the only problem that Japan must handle now.

In fact, Japan is facing a crisis of isolation in East Asia. Russia and South Korea are showing tough attitudes over their sensitive issues with Japan.

The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have both recently officially visited the disputed islands with Japan.

A rather realistic response from Japan in front of such a crisis is to weaken the provocative stance on sensitive issues and to seek compromises with its neighbors.

Together with Yamaguchi's visit, the Japanese central government denied the request by the local government of Tokyo to land on the controversial islands that Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara wishes to buy from the present "owner."

However, it is not sure whether such a policy will be widely accepted by Japan's politicians.

In fact, from a long-term perspective, there are worrying signs that Japan, instead of making compromises with its Asian neighbors, may further isolate itself.

Historically, Japan has an alternative when it is forced into a difficult position: to turn to its ally, namely the US, to restabilize the conditions surrounding it.

The fact that Ishihara declared his plan during his visit to the US in April indicates that he doesn't think he is fighting alone on this issue.

In the past, the Japanese and US militaries often held joint exercises after tensions between China and Japan heightened. And it seems that some advisors within the Japan-US alliance also prefer the latter plan. 

Recently the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the US released the newest Armitage-Nye report on the US-Japan alliance.

In the report the US-Japan alliance is described as "a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond." Specific suggestions are made for Japan on how to act on behalf of the alliance to serve the goal of "anchoring stability in Asia."

A main suggestion is that Japan should look south and "more fully" use its muscles to strengthen its presence there. This includes consolidating partnerships with Southeast Asian countries and countries like India and Australia, as well as engaging in actions in the South China Sea such as joint surveillance.

There are signs that some parts of the Japanese government incline to this road map. The Ministry of Defense is expanding the scale of the project to transfer Japan's military doctrine to some Southeast Asian countries that started last year.

Japan should be aware that the South China Sea and the areas around it have an even more complicated situation and subtler balance of power than the rest of East Asia.

Any intensified engagement by Japan in this region may have a bigger chance to become a disturbance than an anchor, especially when the scale of possible backing from its ally is uncertain.

The US military departments are now facing a budgetary constraint due to the economic recession in the country. Even with the pivot to Asia, it is doubtful that the military presence of the US in East Asia and Southeast Asia will be expanded.

The US did move some Osprey fighters into Japan, but at the same time it moved out a large part of its troops in Okinawa to remoter Guam.

It seems much more practical and less costly for Japan to reconcile itself with its close neighbors.

Policymakers in Japan should realize that, before they have escaped being a common target for their East Asian neighbors, it is not sensible to get caught up in another mess.

The author is a scholar living in Japan. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn