China says Japan’s FM to visit today

BEIJING: Japan´s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit China on Wednesday (today) for talks with local counterpart Wang Yi, as Tokyo acknowledged “challenges and concerns” in relations.

The visit will be Iwaya´s first to China since becoming Japan´s top diplomat earlier this year. He told reporters in Tokyo that “China represents one of the most important bilateral relationships for us”.

“Between Japan and China, there are various possibilities but also multiple challenges and concerns,” he said. “Both countries possess the heavy responsibilities for the peace and stability of our region and the international community,” he added. China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over territorial rivalries and military spending has frayed ties in recent years. Japan´s brutal occupation of parts of China before and during World War II remains a sore point, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to atone for its past. Visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine that honours war dead — including convicted war criminals — regularly prompt anger from Beijing. Tokyo is a longstanding and key US ally, but it has been expanding its partnerships as a bulwark against Beijing.

China´s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing “was ready to work with Japan... to focus on common interests, strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation (and) properly manage differences”.