Posted on 04/25/2006 5:29:25 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Tuesday April 25, 6:06 PM
Koizumi says China, S. Korea will regret not holding summit talks
(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he thinks China and South Korea will come to regret their refusal to hold summit talks with Japan, as a result of his visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine. "There must come a time when they will regret they have said they do not want to hold summit talks due to this issue," Koizumi told reporters, reiterating that he "cannot understand" the positions of Beijing and Seoul.
The premier made the remarks when asked on the eve of his administration's fifth anniversary if he plans to visit Yasukuni on the Aug. 15 anniversary of the end of World War II, as he pledged in taking office. He has never visited the shrine on the day.
"Because the other side has to save face, this problem will likely take time (to resolve)," the premier said, reiterating that he plans to visit Yasukuni this year, but did not say when.
While repeating that he is an advocate of Japan-China friendship and is ready for talks "any time" with both neighboring countries, Koizumi said, "For the sake of this friendship, critics of my Yasukuni visits are saying China is against it. They say we have to listen to what China says."
Chinese and South Korean leaders have refused to hold summit talks with Koizumi ever since he made his fifth annual visit to the shrine last October, despite their repeated protests already lodged with Tokyo. A Man A Woman
Koizumi claimed Tuesday the leaders of other countries with whom he has had talks have "all understood my argument and said it is China and South Korea that are unusual."
Regarding South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's special statement in which he outlined a hard-line policy on bilateral issues with Japan, including a dispute over a pair of Sea of Japan islets and his Yasukuni visits, Koizumi called for a resolution through dialogue.
"I think it is a matter of discussing what realistic measures exist for a resolution on the basis of the recognition that Japan-South Korea relations are important, although various problems cannot be resolved at once," he said.
In Seoul, Roh said in a live TV broadcast that Japan's claim to the South Korea-controlled islets, called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, is "intolerable" and that he would "deal strongly" with the Yasukuni and other issues.
In a related move, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told reporters after a meeting with Koizumi, "The United States likes to see friendly relations between Japan and China, and on the other hand some of the issues are really issues of a special nature for Japan."
"But I personally expect the relations over a period of time will improve, and the economic relations between Japan and China are already very good," Kissinger said.
Ping!
Yep.In a war in asia everyone must know that we are allies fully with Japan. South Korea has turned into Beijing bootlickers,not to mention North Korea china's proxy state.They US should leave South Korea because they hate us anyhow.
They=the
typo master :/
I think the anti-American young South Koreans feel the same too? Last I heard they were chanting "US out of Korea!" just 3 years ago? Did these people cheer when Rumsfield raised the spectre of the US military moving out of Korea?
IMHO one reason of strengthening the US-Japan alliance on the part of the US is that they worry South Korea is turning ambivalent, and so they are trying to form a working relationship with Japan just in case if a new Korea that acts sort of like Finland (but with potent armed forces) during the Cold War. In that case they can at least work with Japan when some anti-American Asian alliance (with China and Korea) threatens US interests in the region - Thailand and Singapore aren't too reliable allies, and Malaysia and Indonesia are hardcore anti-American though they aren't China's friends either, an dthe Philippines is just a banana republic now.
Of course the reality is much murkier: Koreans don't really love Chinese Communists at heart, and many Chinese likewise regard Koreans as alliance of convenience when facing Japan and ...Uncle Sam, but deep at heart they do regard them with contempt. East and Southeast Asia will be a very interesting threatre of geopolitics for coming years...
I agree I say lets remove US troops from SK. Which we could deploy elsewhere or spend the money wasted there on other things. Let SK and NK fix their own problems we been there for over 50 years. Its time to go because they really do loathe the US.
Yeah... Do we really have an obligation to contain Communism still? Perhaps we should move out of SK.
I doubt Japan can't get word eise on both China and South Korea
Not sure why you say that. I agree, there is some resentment against the US in S. Korea, but not enough to derail US/S.Korea alliances. Many young people just want a united Korea and they are at times suspicious of US intentions. But overall, I think the alliance is very strong. Keep one thing in mind, other than the UK, S. Korea sent the next largest non-American force to Iraq. It's one thing for Japan to make political posturing in show of support for the US, it's another when the help is really needed. S. Korea sent more troops to Iraq than Japan.
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