Posts tagged ‘Tokyo’

19/08/2013

China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit

Reuters: “China summoned Japan’s ambassador on Thursday to lodge a strong complaint after two Japanese cabinet ministers publicly paid their respects at a controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Anti-Japan protesters carry posters depicting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as they march to the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The ministers’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine “seriously harms the feelings of the people in China and other Asian victim countries”, the ministry said in a statement.

Visits to the shrine by top Japanese politicians outrage China and South Korea because it honors 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal, along with war dead.

For Koreans, the shrine is a reminder of Japan’s brutal colonial rule from 1910-1945. China also suffered under Japanese occupation before and during World War Two.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin summoned Japanese ambassador Masato Kitera for an emergency meeting to lodge “stern representations and express strong opposition and severe condemnation”, the ministry said.

“The issue of the Yasukuni Shrine relates to whether or not Japan can correctly recognize and face up to the history of invasion of the Japanese militarists and whether or not they can respect the feelings of the people of China and the other victim nations in Asia,” the ministry said.”

via China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit | Reuters.

28/02/2013

* New top diplomats in China signal focus on U.S., Japan, North Korea

Reuters: “China is signaling that it is keen to get on top of troubled ties with the United States, Japan and North Korea with the likely appointment of two officials with deep experience of these countries to its top diplomatic posts.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi attends a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart in Moscow February 22, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Current Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, ambassador to Washington from 2001-2005 and a polished English speaker, is tipped to be promoted to state councilor with responsibility for foreign policy, three independent sources said. China has only five such councilors and the post is senior to that of foreign minister.

Yang, 62, will likely be replaced as foreign minister by Wang Yi, China’s ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007 and a one-time pointman on North Korea. Both will be appointed during March’s annual full session of parliament, the sources said.

“Yang Jiechi will be in the driving seat, he knows a lot about Sino-U.S. relations,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a China expert at Hong Kong Baptist University.

“China-Japan is high on the list (too) … With Shinzo Abe and the LDP back in the saddle in Tokyo, I’m sure they’re a bit concerned about the right wing twists of domestic politics and Japanese foreign policy as well.””

via New top diplomats in China signal focus on U.S., Japan, North Korea | Reuters.

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