U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns on Friday called on Japan to mend relations with neighboring countries, especially China and South Korea, reported local media.
Burns, who has already visited China and South Korea on a three-nation Asian trip, met with Japanese Defense Minister Isunori Onodera, Foreign Minister Funio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and called for reducing risk of contingency over the disputed islands between Japan and China.
The visit came after a controversial worship to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine on December 26, 2013 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which infuriated China and South Korea, with the United States saying it was "disappointed."
Japan's relations with China and South Korea are also strained due to territorial disputes.
Meanwhile, the United States is urging Abe not to repeat his provocative visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 class-A war criminals in the World War II.
U.S. officials are "looking for assurances from Mr. Abe that he would refrain from further comments and actions that ruffled Japan 's neighbors, who are already suspicious of his policy agenda," the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday in its online edition.
It quoted the officials as saying that they are also "urging Japan to reach out to South Korea to end their bickering, which is complicating efforts for the key U.S. allies to work together on broader regional challenges."
It said that Abe's shrine visit surprised and dismayed many in Washington and sparked outrage in Seoul and Beijing, adding the U. S. officials have asked Japan to take steps to address decades-old disagreements over forced prostitution at Japanese military brothels in World War II.
However, in the working policy of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party released on January 19, the party said it will continue to visit the Yasukuni Shrine.
Analysts pointed out that compared with previous working policies, the new version's expression on constitution revision and education policy highlighted Abe's strong conservativeness.
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2014) |