Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday apologized for his country's aggression in Asia during World War II, but a Chinese official dismissed the remarks, saying that "actions are more important" as Japanese lawmakers made a controversial visit to a war shrine.
Koizumi's expression of "deep remorse" at a summit of Asian and African leaders in Jakarta did not go beyond what Japanese leaders have previously said.
But its delivery at the international gathering was clearly aimed at easing an escalating row with China over Tokyo's handling of its wartime atrocities and its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Relations between the two Asian powers have plunged in recent weeks to a three-decade low.
"In the past, Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering for the people of many countries, particularly those of Asian nations," Koizumi said at the summit's opening ceremony.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility," he said.
In response to the apology, however, China's ambassador to South Korea, Li Bin (李濱), said: "Of course words are important. But I believe actions are more important."
Just hours before Koizumi's speech, dozens of members of the Japanese parliament made a pilgrimage to a Tokyo shrine that honors executed World War II criminals along with other war dead.
"We express strong dissatisfaction over the negative actions of some Japanese politicians," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said of the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.
It called on Japan to take actions that were "more conducive to improving and developing Sino-Japanese relations," citing the "current severe situation."
Koizumi said he was hoping for a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Massive anti-Japanese protests erupted in major Chinese cities this month after Tokyo approved a new history textbook that critics say plays down Japan's wartime atrocities, including mass sex slavery and germ warfare. The protesters also have targeted Tokyo's Security Council bid.
Also fueling the tensions are disputes over gas-drilling in disputed waters and Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
"With feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind, Japan has resolutely maintained, consistently since the end of World War II, never turning into a military power but an economic power, its principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means, without recourse through the use of force," Koizumi said.
Koizumi said Japan would stick to a "peaceful path" and increase its overseas development aid to Asian and African nations.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an interview in Jakarta that Koizumi's speech clearly showed Japan's regret, a core point he was hoping to convey to the delegates.
"We are not just rich people hanging around giving out money. We are doing this because our whole attitude is based on remorse," Akira Chiba said. "I do hope that the Chinese will hear this message too."
Japan's Kyodo News Agency said Koizumi's remarks were based on a 1995 speech by former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The two-day Indonesian summit draws together 80 nations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Asia-Africa conference that gave birth to the Nonaligned Movement, which tried to steer a neutral course between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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