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Japan seeks stronger US alliance amid sour ties with neighbors
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-16 15:24

Japan, a loyal ally of the United States in Asia, is seeking closer ties with the latter at a time when it has experienced a certain diplomatic setbacks and is facing sour relations with its Asian neighbors.

"If the Japan-US relationship remains intimate, Japan can build better relations with China, South Korea and other countries in Asia as well as the world," Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi described the importance of the alliance on November 16 after a Japanese-US summit meeting.

The Japanese leadership puts hope on a stronger alliance with the US as it is facing a diplomatic impasse in terms of Japan's relationship with China and South Korea following Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 Class-A World War II criminals.

DIPLOMATIC IMPASSE AND SOURING TIES WITH NEIGHBORS

Since coming to power in 2001, Koizumi has outlasted most of his predecessors thanks to adroit handling of domestic affairs, such as reforms on economy and overhaul of the faction-bristled ruling party. But diplomatic achievement on furthering ties with surrounding countries was not as much satisfactory.

Some Japanese politicians' attitude of whitewashing Japan's history of aggression and colonial ruling in Asia has damaged the country's relations with China and South Korea.

Koizumi's pilgrimages to the Yasukuni Shrine have torpedoed possibilities of meeting with Chinese leaders for the best part of the past years, though the Prime Minister kept saying he wanted to have direct talks. His latest visit to the shrine in October has grounded a regular summit meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

Furthermore, a meeting among Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders, originally planned as part of the series of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Kuala Lumpur this month, has been postponed because the atmosphere and foundation for the meeting is not good as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao described Monday.

The Japanese leader's failure to correctly face up to the historical issue by successively visiting the Yasukuni shrine was blamed as the cause for the country's sour relations with China and South Korea.

Negotiations with Russia over the territorial issue were bumpy because of Moscow's adamant posture that only two of the four islands off Japan's Hokkaido prefecture will be returned in exchange for a bilateral peace treaty.

Although the two counties are intended to expand cooperation in economy and energy, the political discord is casting a shadow over the prospect.

No breakthrough was achieved during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan in late November. Putin raised his concern that the territorial dispute could have impact on economic exchanges.

Although Tokyo has been pursuing a greater political role in the world to match its economic status, Japan's efforts to gain a permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council have yield no breakthrough.

Caught in a diplomatic standstill in Asia and a series of setbacks may have reminded Koizumi the endorsement from the world' s only super power. "The United States remains the most indispensable ally to Japan," Koizumi told a press conference during US President George W. Bush's November visit.
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