Japan steps up efforts to win int`l support over row with China

TOKYO, Sept. 28 Kyodo -
Japan is prepared to give a real picture to the international community of what
has happened between its ties with China following maritime collisions earlier
this month near a chain of disputed islets, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said
Tuesday, as there are no clear prospects for easing tensions between the two
countries.
Maehara said he has instructed Japanese diplomatic offices abroad to explain
Tokyo's position on the Sept. 7 collisions between Japan Coast Guard vessels
and a Chinese fishing boat.
''It is important to explain to the rest of the world,'' Maehara said at a news
conference.
The remarks were made when Japan has slim chances of arranging for Prime
Minister Naoto Kan to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao when
they attend a meeting of Asian and European leaders next week in Belgium.
''I will go because the meeting is important. Other than that, there are no
plans in particular at this stage,'' Kan said, when asked whether he will call
for a meeting with Wen.
''My impression is that it will be difficult'' to realize a meeting between the
two leaders, Maehara also said, adding that Japan has yet to call for one on
the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting on Oct. 4 and 5 in
Brussels.
In a similar vein, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said, ''It is
uncertain whether we will have that kind of opportunity with one week to go
(before the summit).''
Sengoku, the top government spokesman, suggested that it is up to China to
decide whether to prepare a top-level meeting between the two countries,
saying, ''The ball is now in China's court.''
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said she ''hasn't
heard'' of information on talks between Wen and Kan.
The diplomatic row escalated after Japanese authorities detained the Chinese
captain. He was released and returned to China on Saturday, but tensions
between the two Asian powers persist.
Kan's government has come under criticism at home for releasing the captain in
the face of strong pressure from China.
Given that the likelihood of Kan and Wen holding talks on the fringes of the
summit, also known as ASEM, is not big, Japan is likely to put much of its
efforts into winning support for its stance on the collisions from other
countries at the venue, including some also having territorial problems with
China, such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
The United States has been supportive of Japan's handling of the collisions.
Wallace Gregson, assistant secretary of defense dealing with Asian and Pacific
security affairs, told reporters in Tokyo, ''We fully support Japan's stance in
the recent incident.''
He said the Japanese government ''has acted appropriately'' and there is no
need for ''further action on Japan's part,'' although China has demanded an
apology and compensation over the captain's detention.
Earlier in the day, Maehara told the upper house's panel on foreign affairs and
defense that the captain's arrest was appropriate due to his conduct.
He reiterated that the Senkakus are Japanese territory and that ''no
territorial issue exists in the East China Sea,'' while opposition lawmakers
accused the government of interfering in the prosecutors' decision to release
the captain and called for the immediate disclosure of video footage of the
incident taken at that time by the Coast Guard.
Maehara, who was transport minister at the time of the collisions, said he has
seen the footage and ''it was clear the Chinese fishing boat turned its rudder
and rammed into (the Japanese ship).''
''If it was not intentional but a mistake, (the boat) would have reversed its
engine and taken steps to get away. However, the footage does not show any
signs (of such moves) at all,'' he said.
Ruling and opposition lawmakers have been calling for the release of the
footage which they believe is key to showing the world how the collisions
occurred as some believe that China was not properly informed about the actual
incident.
Prosecutors and the Coast Guard have until now said materials subject to
investigation will not be unveiled, but Toshio Ogawa, senior vice minister of
justice, indicated that the video may be released soon.
Speaking at the same committee session, Ogawa said he believes the prosecutors
will take ''appropriate measures should there be a request from the Diet.''
Government officials including Maehara and Ogawa who were questioned during the
roughly three-hour session repeatedly said the government did not influence the
prosecutors' decision.
==Kyodo