Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura yesterday called China's criticism of visits to a war shrine "absurd" and defended a controversial history textbook, accusing Beijing of ignoring Tokyo's pacifist record as a donor.
China has said relations were at a three-decade low due to an annual pilgrimage by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors 2.46 million Japanese war dead, including 14 convicted war criminals.
"As soon as he visited the Yasukuni shrine, China said Japan was turning to militarism and we were not peaceful. This is absurd," Machimura said.
"We gave them aid, even by issuing deficit-covering bonds. At least in the 1990s, we were the world's biggest provider of aid" to China.
"I can say this proudly," Machimura told a foreign ministry meeting on foreign aid.
Koizumi has visited the Yasukuni shrine each year since he took office in 2001, with his last visit on January 1 last year.
He has indicated he will go again this year despite criticism from China and South Korea, and also appeals by former prime ministers concerned about Japan's diplomatic isolation.
In April sometimes violent protests erupted in China, which accuses Japan of not atoning for its past after Tokyo approved a history textbook written by self-described nationalists who believe Japan is too apologetic about its wartime record.
But Machimura defended the book by the Fusosha publisher, saying that "leftist Japanese scholars and journalists" had taken the issue out of proportion.
"If you read the textbooks you know," Machimura said. "Obviously there is no textbook that praises militarism and colonialism."
"The teachers' union would not adopt a textbook unless it has leftist-slanted passages," Machimura told a luncheon hosted by Jiji Press.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he