06/06/09 20:55:28 bX8iPZMg0
URLﾘﾝｸ(www.nysun.com)
Look Who's Talking By KIN-MING LIU May 16, 2006
If one read only the China Daily, one would believe that one of the world's worst people is
the prime minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi. The semi-official paper says that
Mr. Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine have "hurt the feelings of
Chinese people and damaged the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations."
So much so that for months, Beijing has practically stopped talking to Tokyo.
So when Japan's vice minster for foreign affairs, Shotaro Yachi, met with
his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo in China last week, it was considered news.
Not only did the two officials hold meetings, but they also announced that new talks,
on exploration rights for oil and gas fields in disputed areas of the East China Sea,
would take place in Japan this week.