Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday attended a ceremony marking the anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and China, as well as China’s national day, in a display of his intent to improve delicate relations between the Asian neighbors.
Abe was the first Japanese leader to take part in the annual ceremony in more than a decade.
He said he hoped Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would visit Japan at the earliest possible date.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted Abe as saying that stronger ties between Japan and China benefit the two countries, and also are indispensable for peace and stability in Northeast Asia “given the current situation” in the region, referring to the escalating nuclear and missile threat from North Korea.
Abe’s attendance on a busy day — on which he dissolved the Japanese House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Diet — for snap elections was seen as a gesture of his willingness to improve ties.
Many Chinese deeply resent Japan over its brutal occupation of much of China in the 1930s and 1940s, and tensions spiked in 2012 amid a dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea held by Japan, but claimed by China, as well as Taiwan.
Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) yesterday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties in a further sign of a desire to repair relations.
Li said he hopes Japan can “meet China halfway to safeguard the political foundation of their bilateral ties, properly manage and control their contradictions and differences, and promote the steady improvement and development of their relations,” China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
China’s national day is tomorrow.
Beijing welcomed the attendance of Abe, who was accompanied by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said the anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties is “of great significance” in bilateral relations.
Lu expressed hope that Japan sees it as an opportunity to draw lessons from history, and look to the future and improve ties “in a correct direction.”
Abe told Chinese and Japanese guests that he hopes to visit China and intends to host a Japan-China-South Korea summit by the end of this year as part of deepening relations with Beijing.
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