Japan's Aso in China, likely to sidestep controversy
29 Apr 2009 05:23:51 GMT Source: Reuters
(For related factbox click on [ID:nPEK65073]) BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a visit expected to focus on efforts to tackle the global economic crisis and sidestep a feud over a Tokyo shrine for war dead. China last week slammed the outspoken nationalist prime minister for making an offering of a potted tree to the Yasukuni shrine. Beijing sees the Tokyo shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, but has adopted a more restrained tone after its initial outburst. [ID:nPEK208740] "I have met both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao three times over the past six months, so it's not new, but rather a part of our 'shuttle' diplomacy," Aso said in Tokyo on Tuesday. "I want to talk about exchanges among young people, and other various bilateral issues in a frank manner." He added that swine flu is also likely to feature in his meetings with Chinese leaders. Aso's trip comes as Japan and China, the world's second and third-biggest economies, respectively, seek to fight the fallout from the global financial crisis. The visit also follows North Korea's April 5 launch of a rocket seen by Tokyo, Washington and Seoul as a ballistic missile test and Pyongyang's subsequent vow to boycott multilateral talks on ending its nuclear programmes. [ID:nSP437146] Ties between the Asian neighbours and rivals chilled during Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2006 term as Japanese premier, largely over his visits to Yasukuni, which honours millions of war dead, including some convicted as criminals by a post-World War Two tribunal. Diplomatic relations have improved since then and Koizumi's successors including Aso have avoided pilgrimages to the shrine. But controversies over Japan's handling of World War Two memories continue to affect ties, and mutual mistrust remains deep among citizens of the two countries. [ID:nPEK209266] (Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills and Valerie Lee)
A teacher demonstrates to children how to wash their hands, as a precautionary measure against swine flu infection, at a kindergarten in Huaibei, Anhui province April 28, 2009. China has vowed ...
