Japanese ambassador to arrive next month
Source: Agencies |
November 23, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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JAPAN yesterday appointed a new ambassador to China, months after the last nominee died before he could take up his post and as tensions simmer between Tokyo and Beijing over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
Career diplomat Masato Kitera's appointment will be effective next Monday, the Japanese foreign ministry said, while there were reports that the 60-year-old would be dispatched to Beijing next month to formally succeed Uichiro Niwa.
Japan initially picked Shinichi Nishimiya, another career diplomat, for the post but before he could take up the role, he fell ill in a Tokyo street in September and was taken to hospital. He died a few days later.
Kitera is set to become Japan's point man in the ongoing dispute over the islands.
The Japanese government "purchased" the islands from a so-called private owner in September, provoking anti-Japanese demonstrations across China. A subsequent boycott of Japanese products dented the huge trade ties between the two countries.
Kitera joined the ministry in 1976 and is currently assistant chief cabinet secretary in the prime minister's office.
China yesterday reiterated that it has never accepted Japan's so-called existence on, or control of, the sea area adjacent to the Diaoyu Islands.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was asked to comment on Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba's latest article carried by a US newspaper that said China did not accept post-war international order.
"The Japanese foreign chief's comments are extremely wrong and irresponsible," Hua said, adding that the Diaoyu Islands had been China's territory since ancient times.
Hua said the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation were the legal basis for the Allied Powers and Japan to conclude World War II and construct post-war international order in Asia and the Pacific.
These two treaties also laid the legal basis for China and Japan to settle post-war territorial entitlements, Hua said.
The current tensions between China and Japan originate from the fact that Japan has not completely reflected on or criticized its past of militaristic aggression, Hua said.
She urged Japan to make substantial efforts to properly resolve the current problem.
Career diplomat Masato Kitera's appointment will be effective next Monday, the Japanese foreign ministry said, while there were reports that the 60-year-old would be dispatched to Beijing next month to formally succeed Uichiro Niwa.
Japan initially picked Shinichi Nishimiya, another career diplomat, for the post but before he could take up the role, he fell ill in a Tokyo street in September and was taken to hospital. He died a few days later.
Kitera is set to become Japan's point man in the ongoing dispute over the islands.
The Japanese government "purchased" the islands from a so-called private owner in September, provoking anti-Japanese demonstrations across China. A subsequent boycott of Japanese products dented the huge trade ties between the two countries.
Kitera joined the ministry in 1976 and is currently assistant chief cabinet secretary in the prime minister's office.
China yesterday reiterated that it has never accepted Japan's so-called existence on, or control of, the sea area adjacent to the Diaoyu Islands.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was asked to comment on Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba's latest article carried by a US newspaper that said China did not accept post-war international order.
"The Japanese foreign chief's comments are extremely wrong and irresponsible," Hua said, adding that the Diaoyu Islands had been China's territory since ancient times.
Hua said the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation were the legal basis for the Allied Powers and Japan to conclude World War II and construct post-war international order in Asia and the Pacific.
These two treaties also laid the legal basis for China and Japan to settle post-war territorial entitlements, Hua said.
The current tensions between China and Japan originate from the fact that Japan has not completely reflected on or criticized its past of militaristic aggression, Hua said.
She urged Japan to make substantial efforts to properly resolve the current problem.
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