Abe's attitude key to ties, expert says

The appointmentl of a new Japanese leader is an opportunity to improve Sino-Japanese ties, but his ability to handle problems of history is crucial, according to a Chinese expert on the issue.

"A China-Japan summit is possible" after Shinzo Abe's expected election as Japanese prime minister later this month. But a precondition is whether he can "properly handle" the problem of the visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, said Feng Zhaokui, a researcher of the Institute of Japan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"We hope Abe's statements of emphasizing relations with China can be realized," Feng said in an interview.

The Japanese media reported last week that senior diplomats from the two countries are likely to hold talks in Tokyo next week to pave the way for an ice-breaking meeting between President Hu Jintao and Abe after he becomes Japan's prime minister.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Saturday China has always attached great importance to developing friendly relations with Japan, but he would not confirm the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's obstinate persistence in visiting the Yasukuni Shrine is the crux of the problems in Sino-Japanese relations, as well as in normal exchanges between the leaders of the two countries, Qin said.

"The key to solving the present difficulties is for the Japanese leader to make an early resolution on thoroughly clearing up the political barrier of the shrine visits and bringing bilateral relations back to a normal development track," he added.

China has refused to hold such meetings with outgoing Koizumi because of his repeated visits to the shrine, seen by China and some other Asian countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Abe, the current chief cabinet secretary of Japan, on September 1 formally declared his candidacy for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election.

He is almost certain to replace Koizumi as head of the ruling party and hence become prime minister due to the LDP's grip on parliament.

Abe is known for his hawkish political position, including his embracing of the idea of the shrine visits.

He has defended Koizumi's Yasukuni visits but declined to say whether he would follow suit.

While Abe is trying to take an ambiguous attitude towards the shrine visit, "China's stance is clear and firm", Qin emphasized in the statement.

Japanese media have said Abe was eyeing a visit to Beijing as early as October, rather than waiting to meet Hu on the sidelines of an Asian Pacific leaders' gathering in Hanoi in November.

Some consider the meeting between Chinese and Japanese leaders as "symbolic" as a summit would not resolve substantive feuds, such as one over the development of gas fields in disputed parts of the East China Sea.

However, Feng pointed out the "symbolic meeting" is of great importance in improving the atmosphere of the two nations' political relations.

"If the summit were to materialize, strategic dialogue between the two governments could be held to solve other problems," he said.

It's time that the stalemate of the soured political relations between China and Japan is broken, as its continuation will damage the interests of both sides, the researcher said.

According to Feng, Abe is less "strange" than Koizumi in his politics, and he expects more flexibility and adoption of a strategic perspective in dealing with China-Japan relations.

Source: China Daily