Leaders across Asia yesterday welcomed the historic shift in power after Japan’s general election and sought closer ties with Tokyo, with only North Korea sounding a note of dissent.
Yukio Hatoyama’s center-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won 308 seats in the 480-member lower house on Sunday, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
North Korea urged Japan to break with its “crooked” past and apologize for coercing Asian women to serve in brothels for its troops in World War II.
“If Japan wants to secure international trust, it must squarely break with its crooked past,” the Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary.
Seoul voiced hopes of a further improvement in relations, with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak congratulating Hatoyama, who is expected to be confirmed as prime minister in the middle of this month.
“I am confident Japan will not only continue to develop under your and the DPJ’s leadership, but will also greatly boost its contribution to the peace and joint development of the international community,” the president said.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: “It is a most significant development in Japanese domestic politics.”
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said the DPJ’s landslide election win reflected the Japanese people’s desire for change.
“It is a clear reflection of the Japanese people’s desire for change,” he said.
In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a congratulatory letter to the DPJ and said Taiwan’s relations with its neighbor were expected to blossom under the new leadership.
Ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said the note was issued on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄).
Chen said that during his campaign trail in November 2007, Ma visited Japan and met Hatoyama.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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