New Japan PM: China's island dispute moves 'wrong'
Associated Press
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Updated 3:16 am, Friday, January 11, 2013
TOKYO (AP) — Reaffirming his hawkish stance on China, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that Japan will not negotiate with Beijing over a contested cluster of uninhabited islands and that China was "wrong" for allowing violent protests over the territorial dispute. Abe, who has declared economic growth to be his top priority, made the comments at a news conference at which he announced more than 20 trillion yen ($224 billion) in new stimulus to jumpstart Japan's anemic economy. A decision by the Japanese government to buy a group of tiny islands in the East China Sea from their private Japanese owners in September set off protests in China that damaged Japanese-owned factories and stores around the country. Asked how he could maintain his staunch stance on the East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, while protecting Japan's substantial business interests in China, Abe blamed Beijing for any deterioration in business ties. Senior officials from the State Department, the Pentagon and the White House will travel to South Korea and Japan next week. Abe has suggested that Japan's landmark 1993 apology for the suffering of World War II sex slaves, many of them Korean women, needs revising. Reported by SeattlePI.com 12 hours ago.
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 3:16 am, Friday, January 11, 2013
TOKYO (AP) — Reaffirming his hawkish stance on China, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that Japan will not negotiate with Beijing over a contested cluster of uninhabited islands and that China was "wrong" for allowing violent protests over the territorial dispute. Abe, who has declared economic growth to be his top priority, made the comments at a news conference at which he announced more than 20 trillion yen ($224 billion) in new stimulus to jumpstart Japan's anemic economy. A decision by the Japanese government to buy a group of tiny islands in the East China Sea from their private Japanese owners in September set off protests in China that damaged Japanese-owned factories and stores around the country. Asked how he could maintain his staunch stance on the East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, while protecting Japan's substantial business interests in China, Abe blamed Beijing for any deterioration in business ties. Senior officials from the State Department, the Pentagon and the White House will travel to South Korea and Japan next week. Abe has suggested that Japan's landmark 1993 apology for the suffering of World War II sex slaves, many of them Korean women, needs revising. Reported by SeattlePI.com 12 hours ago.