Abe eager to mend Japan's Asian ties

New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is ready at any time to hold top-level talks with China and South Korea to mend rifts and ensure stability in the region, his spokesman said yesterday during Abe's first full day in office.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Abe is willing to meet South Korean or Chinese leaders to resolve issues of concern, including territorial disputes and regional anger over official visits to a controversial Tokyo war shrine.

"We both share an understanding that we should work to hold top-level talks as early as possible," Shiozaki said. "It is necessary for both sides to make an effort."

He said no specific plans have been made for talks yet.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) has refused since last year to meet with former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi because he repeatedly visited the Yasukuni war shrine, which numbers war criminals among its dead.

China and South Korea -- both brutally colonized by Japan in the last century -- say the shrine glorifies Japan's past militarism.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) said he hoped Abe would pursue better bilateral ties and made a veiled reference to Yasukuni as a reason for the problems between the two countries.

In Seoul, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung told reporters yesterday he expected Tokyo to make "sincere and active" efforts to improve ties.

"I think there is an increasing feeling on both sides to further improve Japan-China and Japan-South Korea relations," Shiozaki said, adding that good relations are the "pillar of stability" in East Asia.

Abe got down to his first full day of work by huddling with his Cabinet, greeting his new staff and attending a formal swearing-in ceremony for members of his administration at the Imperial Palace.

Abe arrived at his office late yesterday morning, waving and smiling to his staff. Earlier, he met reporters outside his home.

"I'll do my best," he said.

Shiozaki, in a speech to his own staff, said Tuesday's election of Abe, who at 52 is the first Japanese prime minister born after World War II, marks a turning point for the nation.

"We will part with the postwar period and build a new Japan," he said.

While saying he wants to strengthen his office and reorganize its operations into a body that more closely resembles the US White House, Abe stressed conservatism and continuity in the naming of his new Cabinet on Tuesday. The Cabinet retains Taro Aso, the hawkish and outspoken foreign minister.

His new defense minister, Fumio Kyuma, however, has said he didn't intend to visit Yasukuni, partially out of deference to the opposition the visits cause in Beijing and Seoul.

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