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Japanese papers blame Koizumi for meeting cancellation
Japanese papers have blamed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's refusal to give up visiting a war shrine for the sudden cancellation of a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, saying an opportunity was missed to improve tense ties. Wu on Monday cut short her visit to Japan by one day by cancelling a meeting with Koizumi. Beijing said only she had pressing duties at home but later hinted the shrine issue was the reason. "It is very likely that Koizumi's remarks on his visit to the Yasukuni shrine has caused the cancellation," the liberal daily Mainichi Shimbun said in an editorial. The Mainichi said Wu's cancellation was "extremely unprecedented" under diplomatic protocol, adding: "It was very unfortunate since the meeting could have been a step toward improving Sino-Japanese relations." A day before Wu's arrival in Japan, Koizumi indicated to a parliamentary committee on May 16 that he would again visit the war shrine, which venerates 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 top war criminals. Beijing has repeatedly demanded Koizumi stop his pilgrimage to Yasukuni while Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday told senior Japanese ruling lawmakers in Beijing that visits to the war shrine were endangering ties. Wu kept her appointments in Tokyo with business leaders, meeting the chairman of Toyota Motor and addressing a forum hosted by the Japanese financial daily the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The Nihon Keizai in an editorial Tuesday also interpreted Wu's abrupt departure as a response to the shrine row. Quoting Japanese government sources, the country's top-selling daily Yomiuri Shimbun said Koizumi's war shrine visit was likey "the direct cause" for Wu's cancellation. |
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