Ball in Japan’s court for talks: Beijing

China’s envoy to Japan says a significant opportunity exists for a first meeting between the current leaders of the two countries at an upcoming summit and the other side must respond now.

China’s ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, said on Wednesday that Tokyo must show compromise for possible talks between the two nations on the sidelines of an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit next month.

“The APEC summit, to be held in Beijing in November, will be a significant opportunity…. But it is also true that there are problems,” he noted.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed hope for direct talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two Asian nations’ leaders have not held official talks since Xi took office in March 2013.

China has blamed Japan for creating barriers and sending relations to their lowest point since normal diplomatic dealings were established in 1972.

“Major obstacles to current China-Japan relations are the issues related to history and territory…. These are political obstacles that affect and critically hinder [improvements of] bilateral relations,” Cheng said Wednesday.

Tension between Tokyo and Beijing has been on the rise in recent months over disputed islands in the East China Sea and the issue of a controversial war shrine regularly visited by Japanese cabinet members.

The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China as the Diaoyus, which are located about 300 kilometers from the Chinese coast.

Similarly, visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses some of Japan’s war criminals from World War II, have been criticized by China.

On December 26, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first visit to the shrine as the country’s premier.

Japan occupied large parts of China and the Korean Peninsula during World War II.

GMA/HMV/SS