Japan says it doesn't regard China as a threat

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government has adopted a statement saying it does not consider China to be a threat, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, in an apparent move to ease friction between them.
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Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso caused a diplomatic flap in December when he said China's military buildup was a threat given its lack of transparency, triggering an angry retort from Beijing and straining already chilly bilateral ties.

Asked by an opposition lawmaker to explain its stance, the government adopted a statement on Tuesday saying it does not view China as a threat, Foreign Ministry spokesman Akira Chiba said.

"We think that threats become evident when a capability to invade is coupled with an intent to invade," Chiba quoted the statement as saying.

It goes on to say that based on a 1972 joint statement that normalized bilateral ties and a 1978 peace treaty, Japan does not think China has any intention to invade.

"Therefore the government does not think that China has any intent to invade Japan ... It is not the case that the government regards China as a threat," the statement said.

But it is vital for China to increase transparency in its military affairs given rises in China's defense budget in recent years, it reiterated.

It was formally approved by the cabinet on Tuesday.

Relations with Beijing have been strained by issues including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's annual visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, which honors war criminals along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.

In parliament on Wednesday, Koizumi again defended his visits to the shrine, saying he could not understand why there were many even in Japan who criticized them.

"I would like to ask again whether it is improper for me, the prime minister and also a citizen of the country , to visit with feelings of condolence for the war dead," Koizumi said.

He added that there was no change to his desire to develop friendly relations with China and
South Korea.

Sino-Japanese ties have often been strained by issues stemming from Japan's invasion and occupation of parts of China from 1931 to 1945.

If he'd kept his fat mouth shut in the first place he wouldn't have to have made another statement.

Taro Aso should be shot.

Taiwan is a threat to Sino-Japanese relations

Taro Aso is a perfect candidate for the Prime Minister of Japan.

lol, Koizumi still cant see it. i think it is BS, how can you not

"he could not understand why there were many even in Japan who criticized them."

his own people get it, and he doesnt. he is LYING, he DOES get it, he is doing it on purpose.

It is irrelevant because CSB will be our good old boy Koizumi in triggering an East Asian conflict with China

I thought they meant that Japan didn't consider China a threat because they feel that their own military is stronger than Chinas'. And, of course they do feel threatened by the Chinese ECONOMICALLY, at least for the long run.

it is mind boggling how someone who can't control what comes out of his mouth can become a foreign minister.

Is it just me or has Japan been apologizing a lot lately?

Not my fault they put the wrong people in powerful positions

Japan has been apologizing a lot lately because ASO can't seem to think before he opens up his trash hole.

Seriously, how can someone like that be a FM?

^ How can the mayor of Tokyo be a neo-nazi?

This is why I don't seem the democratic process working. Lately every single democratically elected weenie in office is doing something stupid and fail to represent the people that voted them in.

I guess it doesn't take alot to become a foreign minister in japan nowadays. All you really need to have is the ability to support visits to a war shrine that houses perverts and murders, take credit for educational standards in a country that was taken away wrongfully by his own people using the most brutal of methods, and speak down as well as deny events in the past has ever even happened. Its nice to see japan raising its bar for the qualifications needed to be in a position of power!

HAMAS is democratically elected. And look how happy the Israelis and the Americans are.