Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba was in Germany on Friday, mainly to persuade German leaders to accept Japan's "purchase" of China's Diaoyu Islands.

Gemba was on a weeklong three-country visit to Europe, and it was obvious that the Germans would give him the cold shoulder on the issue just as the British and French had done earlier this week. The European media, too, have been indifferent to Gemba's visit.

European politicians and media have a clear stance on the Diaoyu Islands issue, which is praiseworthy. Europeans saw through the designs of Gemba because of something his colleagues did back home while he was visiting Europe. Two Japanese cabinet ministers and former prime minister Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors class-A World War II criminals, on Wednesday and Thursday.