Passing of a bridge between China and Japan

Yoshiko Yamaguchi played a prominent role in promoting Sino-Japanese friendship, but was always haunted with the guilt that she might not have done enough to make amends for her past.

IN the sad and vexed modern history of relations between China and Japan, one of the figures that stood out as a possible bridge between both nations is Yoshiko Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi, variously known as Li Xiang Lan (Ri Kouran in Japanese) and Shirley Yamagu­chi, died on Sept 7 of heart disease in Tokyo.