After talking to Japanese officials in Tokyo over the last few days, I have the strong impression not only that they are ready to fight, but also that they expect to win, and furthermore that conflict may come at any moment.
Professor Huang Jing from Singapore University and a former adviser to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) says a rising cadre of officers has slipped the leash and picked up attitudes all too like the Japan's firebrand officers in the 1930s, when they defied orders from Tokyo.
The difference of course is that if the PLA slips the leash and has a go at Japan, they will not be dealing with fading colonial powers that are distracted by threats closer to home. They'd be taking a bite at one of the best equipped and most professional navies on the planet, and there's a very good chance that at least initially they would take a severe spanking. China might prevail by attrition in an extended conflict, but an extended conflict would not be easy for China to manage either, especially if it involved major interference with trade.