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Koizumi mends bilateral ties with Chinese

In separate meetings Oct. 8 in Beijing, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji welcomed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's six-hour visit aimed at mending bilateral ties.

Koizumi went on the whirlwind visit to try to mend bilateral relations hurt by his Aug. 13 visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo

In a meeting over lunch, Zhu told Koizumi that China welcomed his visits earlier in the day to sites linked to Japan's wartime atrocities. Zhu added that history is a "sensitive issue" for the Chinese, officials said.

Zhu was referring to a visit by Koizumi to Marco Polo Bridge, the site of the 1937 clash that triggered an eight-year war between the two countries, and a museum commemorating the war.

Zhu's comments came after Koizumi stated his country's "heartfelt apology" for the suffering it had caused the Chinese people in the past.

"I viewed the various exhibitions with feelings of heartfelt apology and condolences for the Chinese people who became victims of aggression," Koizumi told reporters outside the museum.

In the meetings, Koizumi also sought to ease China's concerns over the plan for the Self-Defense Forces to provide non-combat assistance to U.S.-led strikes against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban that began Oct. 7. Koizumi stated that Japan's assistance will not entail the use of military force.

Shukan ST: Oct. 19, 2001

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