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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Japanese and Chinese leaders repair ties at Jakarta JAKARTA, Saturday (AFP) Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will hold hastily arranged talks Saturday on the fringes of the Asia-Africa summit aimed at salvaging bilateral ties. The meeting comes with the two Asian powers locked in a bitter row sparked by the Japanese government's approval of a history textbook that Seoul and Beijing says glosses over wartime atrocities. Tensions have boiled over onto the streets of Chinese cities with Japanese businesses targeted by sometimes violent demonstrations, protesting Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council among other issues. China has refused Japan's demands to apologise for the protests, instead saying that Tokyo's refusal to admit its dark past has placed Sino-Japanese relations at their lowest ebb for 30 years. Koizumi on Friday made Japan's most public apology in a decade for the wartime suffering it had caused Asian nations, a move widely seen as an attempt to patch up relations with Beijing and secure a meeting with Hu. Chinese officials confirmed early Saturday that the meeting would go ahead. "There will be six or seven bilateral meetings, including one with Japan's prime minister, Mr. Koizumi," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters in Jakarta. Asked what the talks would focus on, Kong said: "I think the Chinese side will reiterate its stance on Sino-Japanese relations." He said it was hoped "the two countries can improve their understanding and to eradicate some of Japan's wrong attitude and some of the negative impact, and more importantly (relations) can develop on a healthy basis." The Japanese embassy said that the 40-minute meeting would start at 6:40 pm (1140 GMT), allowing Koizumi time to return from a visit to the tsunami-hit province of Aceh. "In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations," Koizumi told the Asia-Africa summit on Friday with Hu looking on. "Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility. And with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind, Japan has resolutely maintained, consistently since the end of World War II, never turning into a military power but an economic power," he said. Japan has apologised numerous times for its World War II conduct, but Friday's remarks carried added importance with Tokyo desperate to resolve its spat with Beijing. |
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