Maehara eager to hold talks with China's Yang in Hanoi+

TOKYO, Oct. 19 Kyodo -
Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara on Tuesday showed his eagerness to hold
talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of Asian
summits in Hanoi in late October to repair bilateral ties that have become
strained over maritime collisions near the disputed Senkaku Islands in
September.
Maehara told a press conference that the anti-Japan protests in China over the
past few days were ''extremely regrettable'' but said they would not prevent
the two countries from holding high-level meetings to work on improving their
relationship.
The foreign minister said there were no reports of Japanese nationals having
been injured in China, but the protests had caused property damage to Japanese
companies.
Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa urged Yang earlier Tuesday to ensure
the safety of Japanese people and firms in China, and the Chinese foreign
minister told the envoy that Beijing will ''make utmost efforts'' to that end,
Maehara said.
''It is important for both the governments of Japan and China to calmly respond
to incidents from a broader viewpoint,'' Maehara said at the news conference in
Tokyo.
The Japanese foreign minister, however, said he ''cannot understand'' remarks
by Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu issued Sunday following the outbreak of
anti-Japan demonstrations.
The spokesman said it is ''understandable that some people expressed their
outrage against the recent erroneous words and deeds on the Japanese side.''
The comment apparently referred to a series of hawkish remarks by Maehara over
the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands that are claimed by China.
Maehara has repeatedly asserted Tokyo's basic position that the
Japan-administered islands in the East China Sea are ''an integral part of''
Japanese territory and there is no territorial dispute over the chain of
islands. He has said Tokyo will ''not budge an inch'' with regard to Japan's
sovereignty over the Senkakus.
==Kyodo
2010-10-19 20:39:20