Japan calls on China to make more efforts to mend bilateral ties+

TOKYO, Sept. 29 Kyodo - China may have started making efforts to repair its soured ties with Japan, but more must be done to allay tensions between the two countries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said Wednesday.

''Currently, we are not in a win-win relationship. It is probably obvious to
everyone,'' the top government spokesman said at a news conference. ''I presume
that (China) may have started making efforts to bring the situation back to
zero (from minus). But I can't yet confirm that.''
He made the remarks after some trade company officials said that China has
lifted a de facto embargo on exports of rare earth minerals to Japan, which are
vital for the production of many high-tech products.
Sengoku said the government has no concrete information on the new development
regarding rare earth exports, but has asked China to provide an account of the
situation. China has denied imposing an export ban in a tit-for-tat response to
the detention of a fishing boat captain over maritime collisions near the
disputed Senkaku Islands.
Sengoku said China needs to do more to mend ties between the two countries
before high-level talks can be organized.
''I have been saying that the ball is already in China's court,'' he said. ''If
high-level talks are necessary, China must first return the ball'' to convince
a Japanese public dissatisfied with Beijing's recent hard-line attitude.
He said that so far there are no plans for Prime Minister Naoto Kan to meet
bilaterally with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the summit of
the Asia-Europe Meeting on Oct. 4 and 5 in Brussels.
Still, Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Goshi Hosono is in China to explore
the possibility of arranging a meeting between Kan and Wen when they attend the
summit, a DPJ source said Wednesday.
''I know nothing about it,'' Kan, however, told reporters in the evening when
asked about the secret visit by Hosono, who was acting secretary general of the
ruling party until recently.
Hosono is known for having close ties with DPJ powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, who is
well-connected to Chinese political circles. Ozawa was defeated by Kan in the
party's Sept. 14 leadership election.
Diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Beijing have dipped to their lowest point in
years since the Chinese captain was arrested Sept. 8 on suspicion of
deliberately smashing his fishing boat into a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat
near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by
China.
The captain was released on Saturday but ties remain strained.
Sengoku regretted that the government was too naive in believing China would
soften its stance over the incident after Japan had let all the remaining 14
crew members of the fishing boat return to China on Sept. 13.
He said Japan should have known better that Chinese views on legal procedures
are still very different from other countries.
==Kyodo