With Japan's upper house election three days away, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the Ishigaki and Miyako islands in Okinawa on Wednesday is a deliberate provocation to China. Talking to the self-defense forces there, he tried to kill two birds with one stone.

Abe wanted to give his Liberal Democratic Party, which is leading the opinion polls ahead of Sunday's election, a shot in the arm by vowing not to give in to China over their territorial dispute and criticizing China for its patrols in the waters off China's Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

His stance will make it impossible for the two countries to find a solution to the issue. By changing the status quo, denying there is a dispute, and refusing to negotiate with China, Japan has shut the door on improving bilateral relations.