Japan in pledge to reset relations
Source: Agencies |
March 11, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPAN'S new foreign minister pledged yesterday to reset strained relations with China and resolve diplomatic spats.
Takeaki Matsumoto took office on Wednesday after his former boss quit over a political donations sandal.
"Our geographical proximity has made our relations very important but also posed many problems," Matsumoto told reporters in Tokyo. "It is important to establish a solid partnership so that we can resolve the issues one by one."
During a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi earlier yesterday, Matsumoto agreed to cooperate to improve ties.
The 51-year-old veteran lawmaker in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is seen as "more neutral" toward China than his predecessor.
Ties have been strained since last September when a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol vessels collided near China's Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The dispute has led China to postpone talks on joint development of undersea natural gas fields.
Matsumoto yesterday urged China to observe an earlier agreement to jointly develop undersea gas deposits in the East China Sea.
But he added that he and Yang agreed to "work together to deepen mutually beneficial relations, and that includes our effort to resolve various pending issues."
He will make a diplomatic debut as foreign minister next week at a conference of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight in Paris.
Matsumoto replaced Seiji Maehara, who resigned after acknowledging accepting 250,000 yen (US$3,000) from an ethnic Korean resident. Lawmakers cannot accept donations from any foreigners, even those born in Japan.
Takeaki Matsumoto took office on Wednesday after his former boss quit over a political donations sandal.
"Our geographical proximity has made our relations very important but also posed many problems," Matsumoto told reporters in Tokyo. "It is important to establish a solid partnership so that we can resolve the issues one by one."
During a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi earlier yesterday, Matsumoto agreed to cooperate to improve ties.
The 51-year-old veteran lawmaker in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is seen as "more neutral" toward China than his predecessor.
Ties have been strained since last September when a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol vessels collided near China's Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The dispute has led China to postpone talks on joint development of undersea natural gas fields.
Matsumoto yesterday urged China to observe an earlier agreement to jointly develop undersea gas deposits in the East China Sea.
But he added that he and Yang agreed to "work together to deepen mutually beneficial relations, and that includes our effort to resolve various pending issues."
He will make a diplomatic debut as foreign minister next week at a conference of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight in Paris.
Matsumoto replaced Seiji Maehara, who resigned after acknowledging accepting 250,000 yen (US$3,000) from an ethnic Korean resident. Lawmakers cannot accept donations from any foreigners, even those born in Japan.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
