Japan: Miles Apart, but Close at Heart.
The international community has given great understanding and support to China in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Japan and China are neighbors that always offer mutual assistance in times of hardship. The Japanese government and the Japanese people took immediate action to provide aid materials and voice support, bringing encouragement and warmth to the Chinese government and the Chinese people.
"Miles apart, but close at heart." This was a two-line poem written in Chinese by the Japanese HSK Bureau on the boxes of supplies it donated to China in its fight against the novel coronavirus. As the poem describes, while mountains and rivers separate China and Japan, the two countries enjoy the same moonlight under the same sky. Also quoted by former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in a video message sent to show his support to Wuhan, the poem has brought the people of the two countries closer, and has evoked a significant moment in the history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan.
The poem was composed by Prince Nagaya of Japan more than 1,000 years ago. During his reign, Japan often sent ambassadors to China to learn Buddhism and Chinese culture. The hymn was embroidered on 1,000 Buddhist robes that Prince Nagaya sent to the Chinese monks. Moved by the Prince's hymn, Jianzhen (688-763), the renowned Buddhist master and traveler of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), decided to go on a voyage to Japan despite hardship, promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries.
As an old Chinese saying goes, "You toss me a peach, I give you a white jade in return." In mid-to-late February, as confirmed patients increased in Japan, China donated a batch of COVID-19 nucleic acid testing kits to Japan and strengthened information sharing. These benign interactions demonstrate that the two countries share an inextricably linked destiny and cooperate to protect regional and international public health security.
日本：山川异域，风月同天
国际社会对中国抗击新冠肺炎疫情给予了极大的理解和支持，日本作为一衣带水、守望相助的友好邻邦，第一时间以官民一体、文道合一的物资援助和舆论支持，为中国政府和人民带来了鼓励与温情。
1月29日，日本汉语教学考试机构HSK事务局在捐赠湖北的物资贴纸上，写下“山川异域，风月同天”的诗意留言，寓意中日两国虽然山川各异，然而却能同沐清风、共赏明月。日本前首相鸠山由纪夫在为武汉加油的视频中，也提到了这句话。诗意的留言拉近并温暖了两国民众的心，唤起了中日文化交流源远流长的美好记忆。“山川异域，风月同天”的作者是一千多年前日本政界的重量级人物长屋亲王。其执政时，日本频繁派出遣唐使来中国学习佛法与先进文化。长屋亲王命人制作千件绣着“山川异域，风月同天；寄诸佛子，共结来缘”偈语的袈裟，随遣唐使带给中国的高僧。鉴真大师为偈语所感动，不畏艰险前往日本弘扬佛法，为中日友好交流播下了种子。
“投我以木桃，报之以琼瑶”。2月中下旬，随着日本新冠肺炎确诊病例持续增加，中国无偿提供新冠病毒核酸检测试剂，进一步同日方分享信息经验，体现了两国命运与共、密切协作，维护地区和世界公共卫生安全的积极姿态。