Lowest point in Sino-Japanese relations since 1972
Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) A chill wind is blowing over Sino-Japanese relations after Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi snubbed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday by abruptly calling off a meeting scheduled in Tokyo, citing "work demands".
The cold shoulder comes a day after Chinese President Hu Jintao warned Japanese leaders that their visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo could damage ties between the two countries "in an instant".
Last night, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan indicated the last-minute cancellation was linked to Japanese leaders' repeated remarks about visits to the controversial shrine.
"We think it was very inappropriate to make those remarks while Vice Premier Wu Yi was visiting," Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang.
Shen reiterated that "sudden internal" commitments at home had been the main reason for calling off the meeting.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said that this kind of behaviour ran against "international diplomatic rules and etiquette", adding that Japan received "no word of apology".
Japan's Internal Affairs Minister Taro Aso said the cancelled meeting had "greatly contributed" to the deterioration of relations between China and Japan.
Officially though, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda on Tuesday called for calm, saying that such cancellations are common and that Tokyo saw no need for a detailed explanation.
Heizo Takenaka, Japan's Minister for Economic Policy, also stressed the need to improve relations between the two countries, whose growing two-way trade and investment are vital to both sides.
Founded in 1869, the Yasukuni (Peaceful Country) Shrine honours Japan's 2.5 million war dead, both military and civilian, but also 14 Class A war criminal like Prime Minister General Hideki Tojo.
According to Shinto religious tradition, people become kami or deities when they die.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the shrine to pay their respect.
Since he became Prime Minister in 2000, Koizumi has made the trip four times, each time upsetting those of Japan's Asian neighbours that fell victim to its aggression in the 20th century, most notably China and Korea.
The meeting between Koizumi and Wu Yi was seen as a way to bring relations between the two countries back to an even keel after weeks of rough waters during which the Chinese protested against Japanese history schoolbooks and Tokyo's application for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Before her departure, Ms Wu said China's relations with Japan were at their lowest ebb since 1972 when diplomatic relations were re-established.
Her harsh criticism might reflect Beijing's dissatisfaction that Mr Koizumi had failed to honour understandings reached privately between the two leaders when they met in Jakarta last month.
Yesterday, Koizumi said that "it was their [China's] request to hold a meeting, and I thought it would have been a good opportunity".
"I will meet them anytime if they want to meet. If they don't want to meet, there is no need to," he added
The Japanese leader said he saw nothing wrong in paying his respects to the fallen at the shrine and pray for peace, insisting that the visits were private.
While Beijing's move was criticised in Japan, it was overwhelmingly supported by mainland internet chat room users; similar support among elites.
Ye Zicheng, head of the Diplomacy Department at Beijing University, said the cancellation was a well-planned way of showing Beijing's displeasure over recent history.
Other analysts are however worried about the growing divide between the two major regional powers.
There are fears in fact that a climate of 'cold war' might set over the relationship and accentuate divisions, hurting trade and investments. (PB)
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15/02/2007
28/03/2006
