Japan Attempts to Organize Summit with China and South Korea

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Noriyuki Shikata issued an official statement in which he is outlining the fact that Japanese officials intend to make all the necessary arrangements for a summit with their Chinese and South Korean counterparts at the end of the year, in order to mend diplomatic relations with them, given that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's controversial visits to the Yasukuni war shrine have caused much strife and tension, CNN informs.

Both China and South Korea have massively criticized the visits of Koizumi at the shrine, especially the August 15th one, the day in which Japan celebrated the surrender in the Second World War, stating that by doing so, he officially upheld militarism.

Shikata added that it is still too early for any details to be discussed, yet he highlighted the fact that what is most important at the moment is that Tokyo administration is keen on improving relations with its two very important neighbors and trading partners and that "there could be efforts along these lines". The reason why no details can be worked out at the present moment is because no formal successor of Koizumi has been established and no foreign policy priorities have been formally outlined.

According to a Japanese daily, the Yomiuri, which did not cite any second or third party sources, the Japanese Foreign Ministry intends to call for Koizumi's successor, most likely current Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, after the current Japanese Prime Minister steps down at the end of September, as well as the leaders of the other two countries, to take part in such a high-level meeting, along the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which is due in November, or within the reunion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, due in December. "The Koizumi government will come to an end. For the Chinese side also, there is nothing good about prolonging this problem", one Japanese official stated.