China yesterday warned ties with Japan were at a 30-year low and reiterated it would not apologize for widespread protests, but Japan said it saw no need to change its policy despite a "very uncomfortable situation."
As Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura held a second day of talks in Beijing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei (
"There are serious difficulties between China and Japan at the moment. It is the most difficult time since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972," he told reporters, blaming Japan's refusal to face its past record of aggression.
PHOTO: EPA
In contrast, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima attempted to put a more positive spin on relations as he focused on economics at a press conference in the Chinese capital.
He added, however, that Chinese protesters who damaged Japanese property had created a "very uncomfortable situation."
Ties between East Asia's two most powerful nations have rapidly approached a nadir after Japan approved a nationalist textbook that glossed over wartime atrocities.
They have been further ruffled by Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, three out of every four Japanese voters believe Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not done enough to improve long-strained relations with China and South Korea, according to a newspaper poll published yesterday.
Seventy-six percent of respondents to a poll of about 1,000 voters the Mainichi Shimbun on Saturday and Sunday said Koizumi had not done enough to mend ties with Japan's neighbors, both of which were occupied by Japan before and during World War II.
In Tokyo, shots were fired yesterday at a Chinese language school, hitting a door but causing no injuries, in the latest apparent backlash against violent anti-Japanese demonstrations in China, police and media said.
A razor blade with an anonymous note complaining about the protests also was delivered by mail last week to the Chinese consulate in Fukuoka the Kyodo News agency reported.
Police said they found several bullet holes in the glass door at the entrance of the Japan-China Friendship Center. Investigators also found several bullets at the site. Kyodo said the shooting was believed to be linked to the protests. Nobody claimed responsibility.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed down 3.80 percent yesterday amid the escalating tensions, ending at 10,938.44 points -- its lowest point since Dec. 16.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS