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Japanese PM Renews Wish to Meet Chinese Leader
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday repeated his wish to hold talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin to mend bilateral ties which have soured over Koizumi's visit earlier this month to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, Kyodo News reported.
"I have been sending a message that if the situation allows, I would like to hold summit talks as soon as possible," Koizumi was quoted as telling reporters at his official residence.
"Japan believes that its ties with China are important. I think there is a need to look not only at areas of contention, but also areas of cooperation in a positive manner," Koizumi said.
The Japanese prime minister also said he believes ties between the two countries could be improved with willingness on both sides.
Koizumi's comments came shortly after new Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Dawei urged Japan to take action toward changing the atmosphere to improve bilateral relations, which he said are facing the "toughest situation" since the two countries normalized bilateral diplomatic ties nearly 30 years ago.
Koizumi hopes to visit China and South Korea before a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai in October to mend ties with the two countries.
Tokyo's ties with Beijing and Seoul have been strained over Koizumi's August 13 visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine honoring 14 Class A war criminals among nearly 2.5 million Japanese war dead and the Japanese government's approval of a controversial junior high school history textbook which distorts history and glosses over Japan's wartime aggression in Asian countries.
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