On his way to the recent G8 Summit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stopped off in Central Europe to hold Japan's first ever summit with the Visegrad Group, which comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

In a joint statement the two sides emphasized their shared commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and announced a "partnership based on common values for the 21st century".

Japan's Mainichi Shimbun stated outright that this was undoubtedly intended as a message to China.