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| Sunday, 17 April 2005 |
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Senior Chinese official says relations with Japan at 'crossroads' BEIJING, Saturday (AFP) Sino-Japanese relations are "at a crossroads" and Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine honouring war dead are at the heart of the problems, a senior Chinese official was quoted as saying Saturday. But State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, a former foreign minister, also extended an olive branch, saying China still valued cordial relations with its powerful neighbour, Xinhua news agency reported. His comments came amid protests in China at Japan's perceived failure to atone for war-time atrocities sparked by the Japanese government's approval of history textbooks that were seen to gloss over important historical facts. Tang told the president of Japan's Kyodo news agency Toyohiko Yamanouchi in a meeting that the shrine visits remain the most contentious issue. "The Japanese leaders' Yasukuni shrine visit remains the most prominent issue hindering Sino-Japanese bilateral ties," Tang was quoted as saying. "We cannot evade the question (of Yasukuni shrine visits) if we want to improve bilateral relations." Annual visits by Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine, dedicated to Japan's war dead including convicted war criminals, have pleased conservatives at home but angered China, which was occupied by Japan before and during World War II. On Saturday, thousands of people marched on the Japanese consulate in Shanghai demanding Japan apologise for its wartime past. |
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