Making his diplomatic debut in the US this week, Yukio Hatoyama, Japan’s new prime minister, lost no time in seeking to put his philosophical stamp on the international relations of the world’s second-largest economy.

In his New York meeting with President Hu Jintao of China – the first in a series of bilateral summits on the sidelines of United Nations and G20 gatherings – on Monday, Mr Hatoyama called for the disputed gas-rich waters between Japan and China to be turned into a “sea of fraternity”.