ID :
145580
Mon, 10/11/2010 - 09:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/145580
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China allows Japanese youth group visit to Shanghai Exp
TOKYO, Oct. 10 Kyodo - China will allow the visit from Oct. 27 of a group of 1,000 Japanese young people to the Shanghai World Expo, a visit that had been canceled by China after maritime collisions off the disputed Senkaku Islands in September, according to the liaison office for the visit in Tokyo.
The Japan-China Friendship Center in Tokyo said on its website Sunday that the
Chinese government had notified the Japanese foreign ministry recently that it
would allow the visit from Oct. 27 to 30.
The move came after the release Saturday of a Japanese employee of construction
company Fujita Corp., who had been detained by Chinese authorities for
allegedly entering a military zone in Hebei Province without permission, and
following an agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao in Brussels on Oct. 4 to mend bilateral ties.
The bilateral exchange program promoted by the two governments and endorsed at
a bilateral summit was originally planned to take place from Sept. 21.
But the Chinese host organization, which has close ties with the Chinese
Communist Party's youth group, notified the Japanese Embassy on Sept. 19 that
it was ''inappropriate to carry out the goodwill exchange program in the
current atmosphere.''
China said the postponement was due to anti-Japan demonstrations stirred by the
collisions between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese patrol vessels Sept. 7
off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
After Japanese authorities arrested the captain of the Chinese boat and sent
him to prosecutors, China unilaterally suspended high-level exchanges with
Japan, while claiming that the captain was being detained illegally.
The Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan but also claimed by China, which
refers to them as the Diaoyu Islands.
The group, consisting of around 620 college students and 380 other young
people, was formed in response to a proposal by Wen during his meeting with
then Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in May for 1,000 young Japanese to
visit the expo to expand personal and cultural exchanges.
The Japan-China Friendship Center in Tokyo said on its website Sunday that the
Chinese government had notified the Japanese foreign ministry recently that it
would allow the visit from Oct. 27 to 30.
The move came after the release Saturday of a Japanese employee of construction
company Fujita Corp., who had been detained by Chinese authorities for
allegedly entering a military zone in Hebei Province without permission, and
following an agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao in Brussels on Oct. 4 to mend bilateral ties.
The bilateral exchange program promoted by the two governments and endorsed at
a bilateral summit was originally planned to take place from Sept. 21.
But the Chinese host organization, which has close ties with the Chinese
Communist Party's youth group, notified the Japanese Embassy on Sept. 19 that
it was ''inappropriate to carry out the goodwill exchange program in the
current atmosphere.''
China said the postponement was due to anti-Japan demonstrations stirred by the
collisions between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese patrol vessels Sept. 7
off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
After Japanese authorities arrested the captain of the Chinese boat and sent
him to prosecutors, China unilaterally suspended high-level exchanges with
Japan, while claiming that the captain was being detained illegally.
The Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan but also claimed by China, which
refers to them as the Diaoyu Islands.
The group, consisting of around 620 college students and 380 other young
people, was formed in response to a proposal by Wen during his meeting with
then Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in May for 1,000 young Japanese to
visit the expo to expand personal and cultural exchanges.
