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Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and top Chinese leaders on Sunday agreed to mend bilateral ties that have deteriorated due to repeated visits to war-related Yasukuni Shrine by Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.
In the ice-breaking meetings held successively between Abe and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, the two neighboring nations also agreed in principle to resume mutual visits by their top leaders.
Abe, who took office on Sept. 26, picked China as the first foreign country to visit as prime minister because he puts priority over rebuilding Japan's ties with China, which, along with South Korea, had suspended bilateral summit meetings due to Koizumi's annual pilgrimages to the Tokyo shrine honoring the Class-A criminals among the Japanese war dead.
In the day's talks, Hu and Wen called on Abe to help remove a political obstacle between Japan and China by refraining from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, according to sources with access the meetings.
In reply, Abe told them that he has policy of not clarifying whether or not he will visit the shrine while seeking the Chinese leaders' understanding of his past visits there.
The visits should be taken as acts to wish for lasting peace, as they were purported to mourn for those who died for their country and families, not for Class-A war criminals, he explained.
He also asked China to duly evaluate what Japan has done for 60 years since the end of World War II, recalling a statement issued in 1995 by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama that offered Japan's deep remorse and heartfelt apology to people in Asia who suffered from Japan's wartime aggression.
Japan's prime minister has not visited China since October 2001. No summit talks have been held between the two nations since Koizumi and Hu met in Jakarta in April 2005 on the sidelines of an Asia-Africa summit.
Ahead of the meetings with the Chinese leaders, also including Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Abe participated in a reception at the Great Hall of the People.
It was very unusual for the top three Chinese leaders to hold separate meetings with a foreign guest on the opening day of a plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which is the most important event for the party, Chinese officials said.
Hu appreciated Abe's pick of China as his first overseas trip destination, saying that it shows the Japanese leader's eagerness to improve and develop bilateral ties further. The Japan-China relationship is at a turning point, Hu said in the meeting.
Abe and the Chinese leaders also exchanged opinions on North Korean problems, and confirmed their cooperation in de-nuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by persuading Pyongyang into not conducting nuclear tests through dialogue.
Among other points of agreements are to frequently hold leaders'' talks on the sidelines of international conferences, including a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hanoi on Nov. 18-19, and to establish a council for joint study of history and hold its first meeting by the end of this year.
0n the issue of natural gas development in the East China Sea, they agreed to seek a solution that is acceptable to the both side, such as launching a joint project.
Abe's China trip has produced fruit. But it has yet to be certain whether the soured bilateral relation can be normalized smoothly, critics said.
For China, holding the summit was based on its conviction that Abe will not visit Yasukuni Shrine during his tenure. Meanwhile, Abe has decided to make it vague whether he will visit there as prime minister.
If Abe actually visits the shrine and the visit is brought to light, Japan-China relations would get far worth than those in the Koizumi's era, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official warned. (Jiji Press)
In the ice-breaking meetings held successively between Abe and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, the two neighboring nations also agreed in principle to resume mutual visits by their top leaders.
Abe, who took office on Sept. 26, picked China as the first foreign country to visit as prime minister because he puts priority over rebuilding Japan's ties with China, which, along with South Korea, had suspended bilateral summit meetings due to Koizumi's annual pilgrimages to the Tokyo shrine honoring the Class-A criminals among the Japanese war dead.
In the day's talks, Hu and Wen called on Abe to help remove a political obstacle between Japan and China by refraining from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, according to sources with access the meetings.
In reply, Abe told them that he has policy of not clarifying whether or not he will visit the shrine while seeking the Chinese leaders' understanding of his past visits there.
The visits should be taken as acts to wish for lasting peace, as they were purported to mourn for those who died for their country and families, not for Class-A war criminals, he explained.
He also asked China to duly evaluate what Japan has done for 60 years since the end of World War II, recalling a statement issued in 1995 by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama that offered Japan's deep remorse and heartfelt apology to people in Asia who suffered from Japan's wartime aggression.
Japan's prime minister has not visited China since October 2001. No summit talks have been held between the two nations since Koizumi and Hu met in Jakarta in April 2005 on the sidelines of an Asia-Africa summit.
Ahead of the meetings with the Chinese leaders, also including Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Abe participated in a reception at the Great Hall of the People.
It was very unusual for the top three Chinese leaders to hold separate meetings with a foreign guest on the opening day of a plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which is the most important event for the party, Chinese officials said.
Hu appreciated Abe's pick of China as his first overseas trip destination, saying that it shows the Japanese leader's eagerness to improve and develop bilateral ties further. The Japan-China relationship is at a turning point, Hu said in the meeting.
Abe and the Chinese leaders also exchanged opinions on North Korean problems, and confirmed their cooperation in de-nuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by persuading Pyongyang into not conducting nuclear tests through dialogue.
Among other points of agreements are to frequently hold leaders'' talks on the sidelines of international conferences, including a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hanoi on Nov. 18-19, and to establish a council for joint study of history and hold its first meeting by the end of this year.
0n the issue of natural gas development in the East China Sea, they agreed to seek a solution that is acceptable to the both side, such as launching a joint project.
Abe's China trip has produced fruit. But it has yet to be certain whether the soured bilateral relation can be normalized smoothly, critics said.
For China, holding the summit was based on its conviction that Abe will not visit Yasukuni Shrine during his tenure. Meanwhile, Abe has decided to make it vague whether he will visit there as prime minister.
If Abe actually visits the shrine and the visit is brought to light, Japan-China relations would get far worth than those in the Koizumi's era, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official warned. (Jiji Press)
