Hu warns on Japan dispute
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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has warned that his country's dispute with Japan over Tokyo's World War II aggression could affect the stability and development of Asia, and urged the Japanese to back up their apologies with action.
Hu was speaking after a 55-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the Asian-African summit in Jakarta.
"At the moment Sino-Japanese relations face a difficult situation. Such a difficult situation is not one we want to see," Hu told reporters after the closed-door meeting.
If the problem cannot be solved "it would be detrimental to China and Japan and would affect stability and development in Asia," he added.
Koizumi told reporters it was a "very good meeting," as he left the venue.
It was the first top-level discussion since massive anti-Japanese protests erupted earlier this month in major Chinese cities over Tokyo's approval of school textbooks that China claims play down wartime atrocities.
Hu said the strong reaction of the Chinese people is "something the Japanese side should seriously reflect on."
The meeting came a day after Koizumi offered the most public apology in a decade over Japan's wartime aggression in Asia. Koizumi's expression of "deep remorse" broke no new ground, but the rare appeal was a clear attempt to reverse the worst erosion of ties between Tokyo and Beijing since diplomatic relations were established in 1972.
However, Hu said Tokyo should back up its words of remorse with action.
The two men are in Indonesia attending a summit of Asian and African leaders, which was opened on Friday by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
''I would like to convey (to Hu) that Japan believes friendly ties are important, especially when anti-Japan feelings exist,'' Koizumi said, according to Kyodo.
Koizumi's announcement followed his apology for Japan's wartime activities in Asia, made during his speech at the summit in Jakarta earlier Friday.
He expressed Japan's ''deep remorse'' and ''heartfelt apology'' for its wartime past.
But China's ambassador to South Korea, Li Bin, dismissed the remarks, saying "actions are more important" than words, The Associated Press reported.
Friction between the two countries has increased in recent weeks, with a string of violent anti-Japan demonstrations in China provoking demands from Japan for an apology.
China has refused, instead blaming Japan for not facing up to its wartime history.
Beijing has also expressed "strong dissatisfaction" by a visit Friday by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The shrine honors about 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including executed criminals such as World War II-era prime minister Hideki Tojo.
Nearly 50 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine Friday morning.
Takeo Hiranuma, a former trade minister, and Tamisuke Watanuki, a former speaker of the lower house, were among those paying their respects.
There were no Cabinet ministers among the group, which visited the shrine in observance of an annual spring festival, AP reported.
Another 119 lawmakers were represented by their aides.
In his Jakarta speech, Koizumi said: "In the past, Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility and with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind," he said.
Chinese demonstrators in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have rallied in recent weeks against Tokyo's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
They are also protesting over a textbook approved by Japan's education ministry that China says whitewashes Japanese wartime atrocities.
On Tuesday, a Japanese court turned down a lawsuit filed by the Chinese survivors of Japanese atrocities during World War II, a court official told CNN. (Full story)
Japan has apologized on numerous occasions for its wartime actions -- most notably in August 1995 when Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama expressed his "deep remorse" and "heartfelt apology" to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
China is Japan's biggest trading partner and there are concerns that diplomatic friction could have an impact on the both counties' economies.
Trade between China and Japan last year was worth about $167 billion. According to Chinese government statistics, Japan has invested in more than 20,000 projects in China with total actual investment of more than $32 billion.
However, Merrill Lynch Japan chief economist Jesper Koll told CNN that there would be "minimal economic impact" from the tensions, because both sides needed each other.
"It is a well-integrated economic relationship," he said.
Meanwhile, Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council is supported by the United States, a staunch ally of Japan.
On Monday, the new U.S. ambassador to Tokyo, J. Thomas Schieffer, was quoted by AP as saying: "We believe that Japan speaking with a louder voice in the world will actually increase the chances for peace and security."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
