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Japanese PM Fails to Mend Ties With China, South Korea at APEC Summit

Posted on: Saturday, 19 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Text of report by Janice Tang, carried in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo

Pusan, South Korea, 19 November: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wrapped up his two-day visit to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] forum in South Korea's Pusan Saturday [19 November] evening, heading home without making headway in mending Japan's strained relations with China and South Korea.

The spotlight of his latest trip to attend the international conference had been on what he would do about the ties with Japan's two most important neighbours after they turned sour because of his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.

In the end, Koizumi was denied a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and failed to secure assurances that reciprocal leaders' visits between Japan and South Korea would continue without a hitch. In a meeting, Koizumi did not get a response from South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on whether he will visit Japan as planned in December.

Koizumi had hoped he could persuade Roh to show understanding for his visits to the war-linked Tokyo shrine from "a long-term perspective".

But the Japanese leader was instead told by his counterpart to stop making any more visits as they are "unacceptable" and to address Japan's "distorted" history education and the territorial dispute over an island claimed by both sides.

The meeting between Koizumi and Roh, who played host to the APEC summit, also bore no fruit on when the two sides will resume negotiations to conclude a free trade agreement. The two countries had aimed to reach a basic agreement on the FTA by the end of this year but negotiations have stalled since January.

Koizumi tried to play down concerns over the Sino-Japanese relations, reassuring his APEC counterparts in the opening session Thursday that there is "no need whatsoever to be worried" and that friendship will advance even if there may be issues between the two countries.

But Koizumi found himself faced with stronger resistance from Beijing and Seoul, as Roh and Hu agreed Wednesday to join forces in opposing his visits to Yasukuni, an institution seen by those neighbouring countries as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

Getting the cold shoulder from China, Koizumi did not even have the opportunity to briefly exchange words with Hu at the APEC venue, a Japanese official who briefed reporters Saturday said.

Even the Foreign Ministry's spokesman, who held a briefing for the international media Saturday, was bombarded with questions from Chinese and South Korean reporters regarding Yasukuni.

Meanwhile, Koizumi, for his part, rejected Lima's request for a meeting with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, citing lack of time. They did have a short chat on Friday, however, and Koizumi said he reaffirmed that bilateral relations remained in friendly terms.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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