China hopes Japan will continue on the path of peaceful development, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday.

Her remarks were in response to the passage of a bill in Japan that would set in motion referendum procedures to amend the country's pacifist constitution.

Because of historical reasons Asian neighbors pay great attention to domestic developments in Japan, especially its pacifist constitution, Jiang said at a regular news briefing.

"Japanese people have chosen the correct path of peaceful development after World War II, and we hope Japan will continue to move in that direction," she said.

Referring to a question on a Republic of Korea (ROK) ship that sank off the coast of East China's Shandong Province after colliding with another vessel on Saturday, Jiang said China has begun an extensive search for the 16 missing sailors and sympathizes with their families.

"Since the ships collided in Bohai Bay, China has taken the issue seriously, and government departments have gone all out to rescue the sailors," she said. More than 200 Chinese ships and a number of aircraft have joined the search for the sailors.

Source: China Daily