QUOTE
Japan eyes China, Korea summit
Tokyo seeks summit to mend ties over Yasukuni controversy
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 Posted: 0143 GMT (0943 HKT)
TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japan's Foreign Ministry is trying to arrange a summit with China and South Korea by year's end to mend ties frayed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a war shrine criticized for glorifying militarism, a report said Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Noriyuki Shikata said it was premature to nail down details but said Tokyo is interested in improving relations with its neighbors and that "there could be efforts along these line."
Koizumi, who intends to step down next month, dealt a blow to Japan's ties with its neighbors on Tuesday by visiting Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the especially symbolic date of August 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
The Yomiuri newspaper, without citing sources, said the Foreign Ministry was aiming for a meeting between Koizumi's successor and leaders of the other countries on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November or a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the following month.
Koizumi made his pilgrimage to the shrine despite complaints from China and South Korea and several days of demonstrations in Tokyo by those who feel the shrine glorifies Japanese militarism. It was his sixth visit there since taking office in 2001.
The pilgrimage brought immediate rebukes from Beijing and Seoul, while the U.S. State Department urged the three nations to work harder to "build good, constructive, neighborly, transparent relations."
Koizumi is scheduled to leave office at the end of September, which means his successor -- likely Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe -- will start his term with fresh diplomatic troubles on his hands.
"The Koizumi government will come to an end. For the Chinese side also, there is nothing good about prolonging this problem," a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri.
Because Koizumi's successor has not yet been decided and his foreign policy priorities have yet to be set, it is too early to arrange summit meetings, Shikata said. But multilateral meetings are good forums for such summits, he added.
"As a government policy, it is certain that the prime minister will change and we hope there will be close dialogue at the summit level," Shikata said.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry did not immediately issue a response to the report.
Koizumi defended the visit by saying he goes there to pray for peace and to honor fallen soldiers, not to celebrate militarism. Dozens of lawmakers also prayed there Tuesday. But the shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including executed war criminals from World War II, and many in Asia and at home see it as proof Japan has not atoned for its past aggression.
Tokyo seeks summit to mend ties over Yasukuni controversy
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 Posted: 0143 GMT (0943 HKT)
TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japan's Foreign Ministry is trying to arrange a summit with China and South Korea by year's end to mend ties frayed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a war shrine criticized for glorifying militarism, a report said Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Noriyuki Shikata said it was premature to nail down details but said Tokyo is interested in improving relations with its neighbors and that "there could be efforts along these line."
Koizumi, who intends to step down next month, dealt a blow to Japan's ties with its neighbors on Tuesday by visiting Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the especially symbolic date of August 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
The Yomiuri newspaper, without citing sources, said the Foreign Ministry was aiming for a meeting between Koizumi's successor and leaders of the other countries on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November or a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the following month.
Koizumi made his pilgrimage to the shrine despite complaints from China and South Korea and several days of demonstrations in Tokyo by those who feel the shrine glorifies Japanese militarism. It was his sixth visit there since taking office in 2001.
The pilgrimage brought immediate rebukes from Beijing and Seoul, while the U.S. State Department urged the three nations to work harder to "build good, constructive, neighborly, transparent relations."
Koizumi is scheduled to leave office at the end of September, which means his successor -- likely Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe -- will start his term with fresh diplomatic troubles on his hands.
"The Koizumi government will come to an end. For the Chinese side also, there is nothing good about prolonging this problem," a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri.
Because Koizumi's successor has not yet been decided and his foreign policy priorities have yet to be set, it is too early to arrange summit meetings, Shikata said. But multilateral meetings are good forums for such summits, he added.
"As a government policy, it is certain that the prime minister will change and we hope there will be close dialogue at the summit level," Shikata said.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry did not immediately issue a response to the report.
Koizumi defended the visit by saying he goes there to pray for peace and to honor fallen soldiers, not to celebrate militarism. Dozens of lawmakers also prayed there Tuesday. But the shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including executed war criminals from World War II, and many in Asia and at home see it as proof Japan has not atoned for its past aggression.
