Enlarge imageBy George Nishiyama and Benjamin Kang Lim
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologised on Friday for the "tremendous damage and suffering" caused by Japan’s wartime past in an apparent effort to help douse a flaming row with China.
Koizumi made the apology during a speech at a multilateral summit in Jakarta in front of leaders from 100 Asian and African countries including Chinese President Hu Jintao, whom he is likely to meet in the coming days.
Japan’s foreign minister had said the fence-mending talks would probably take place on Friday, but a Japanese government source said this was unlikely. Officials were trying to arrange a meeting for sometime on Saturday or later, the source said.
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"In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations," Koizumi said during the opening of the Asia-Africa summit.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility," he said, adding the Japanese people have engraved in their minds "feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology."
The apology conforms with past statements by Tokyo but such an admission in front of an international audience is rare.
Relations between the two Asian economic powerhouses are at their worst since they normalised ties in 1972.
SHRINE VISIT
Thousands have demonstrated in cities across China the past three weekends in violent protests against Japanese textbooks that critics say whitewashes its wartime history and Tokyo’s campaign for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Both sides have, however, been making some soothing noises in an effort to keep relations from unravelling and damaging economic ties worth $212 billion in annual trade.
But in a development that could stir fresh outrage in China, 80 Japanese members of parliament turned out on Friday to pay their respects to Japan’s war dead at a Tokyo shrine that has become a symbol of the animosity.
A spokesman for the group said the visits to the Yasukuni Shrine were intended to honour the dead and pray for peace, not to anger China or South Korea, both of which were victims of Japanese military aggression.
Ties with China chilled markedly after Koizumi took office in 2001 and began annual visits to Yasukuni. He has not visited yet this year.
In brief comments when he arrived in Jakarta on Thursday, Hu said he looked forward to talks with other leaders on Asia-Africa cooperation but did not touch on the Japan tension.
The dispute has unnerved Asian countries and overshadowed the summit in Jakarta, being held to commemorate the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung, which gathered former colonised nations from the two continents for the first time.
Koizumi told the summit that Japan planned to double its official development assistance to African nations over the next three years and provide the bulk of it in grant aid.
BID FOR UN SEAT
Analysts have said Japan sees increasing its foreign aid to poor countries as a way to bolster its bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council, which is steadfastly opposed by China.
Speaking at a business dinner on Thursday night, Hu said China would adhere to peaceful development in a bid to allay regional fears in the wake of the anti-Japanese protests at home and a new law mandating war against Taiwan.
Indeed, mixed signals have emanated from Beijing as the government seeks to rein in anti-Japan protests while insisting they were triggered by Tokyo’s refusal to deal with its past.
Beijing has refused Tokyo’s demand for an apology and compensation for the damage caused to Japanese property in the demonstrations. China has also said its people should not take part in unapproved protests.
One of the big areas of contention has been disputed waters in the East China Sea.
On Friday, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Japan was set to agree to a proposal by China to discuss joint development of gas fields in the region.
Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said he was not aware that China had made such a proposal, but he did not rule out joint development.
