New Japanese Cabinet to Honor Sino-Japanese Joint Statement: Japanese FMThe new Japanese cabinet will handle issues related to Japan-China relations strictly in line with the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Thursday in talks with her Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan.Tang told Tanaka that China and Japan are both important countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the development of the relationship between the two will exert vital impact on the two countries, Asia and the world as a whole. The three generations of Chinese leaders have attached importance to Sino-Japanese ties, he said, citing President Jiang Zemin's speech on May 20 of last year and Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Japan as examples. He said the healthy development of bilateral ties is the result of concerted efforts by the two sides on the basis of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Sino-Japanese Treaty on Peace and Friendship, and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration. Tang also elaborated China's position on current issues related to bilateral ties. On the history textbook issue, Tang said the core of the issue is whether Japan could take the correct approach to its history of aggression and what historical point of view would be adopted to educate Japanese younger generations, urging Japan to adopt sincere measures to correct its wrongdoing and erase negative impacts therefrom. On the issue of Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan, Tang demanded Japan realize the severity, harm and sensitivity of the issue, in order to avoid another similar incident. On the issue of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, Tang stressed that Japan should take into account the feelings of the people of Asian countries, who were subject to Japanese militarist aggression, and learn from lessons in the 1980s and the 1990s on the same issue. Japan's new cabinet should adhere to its recent declaration of "enhancing international coordination" and sincerely honor its solemn commitments of looking squarely at history, he noted. During the talk, Tanaka recalled her trip to China while accompanying her father, Kakuei Tanaka, former Japanese prime minister, saying that she is willing to make more contributions to the friendship between China and Japan and the Japanese new cabinet will develop Sino-Japanese ties in line with the Sino- Japanese Joint Statement. While expressing her deep regret on the textbook issue, Makiko Tanaka said the new cabinet will honor the commitments made by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995 and sincerely respond to China's demands concerning the textbook issue. She said that she won't visit the Yasukuni Shrine and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has no intention of beautifying the war of aggression ignited by Japan in history. On the Taiwan issue, Makiko Tanaka said Japan fully understands China's stand that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and her country will prudently handle relevant issues including Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan strictly in line with the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement. |
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