| Japan seeks stronger US alliance amid sour ties with neighbors(Xinhua)
 Updated: 2005-12-16 15:24
 
 Japan, a loyal ally of the United States in Asia, is seeking closer ties with 
the latter at a time when it has experienced a certain diplomatic setbacks and 
is facing sour relations with its Asian neighbors. 
 "If the Japan-US relationship remains intimate, Japan can build better 
relations with China, South Korea and other countries in Asia as well as the 
world," Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi described the importance of 
the alliance on November 16 after a Japanese-US summit meeting. 
 The Japanese leadership puts hope on a stronger alliance with the US as it is 
facing a diplomatic impasse in terms of Japan's relationship with China and 
South Korea following Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which 
honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 Class-A World War II 
criminals. 
 DIPLOMATIC IMPASSE AND SOURING TIES WITH NEIGHBORS 
 Since coming to power in 2001, Koizumi has outlasted most of his predecessors 
thanks to adroit handling of domestic affairs, such as reforms on economy and 
overhaul of the faction-bristled ruling party. But diplomatic achievement on 
furthering ties with surrounding countries was not as much satisfactory. 
 Some Japanese politicians' attitude of whitewashing Japan's history of 
aggression and colonial ruling in Asia has damaged the country's relations with 
China and South Korea. 
 Koizumi's pilgrimages to the Yasukuni Shrine have torpedoed possibilities of 
meeting with Chinese leaders for the best part of the past years, though the 
Prime Minister kept saying he wanted to have direct talks. His latest visit to 
the shrine in October has grounded a regular summit meeting with South Korean 
President Roh Moo-hyun. 
 Furthermore, a meeting among Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leaders, 
originally planned as part of the series of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Kuala Lumpur this month, has been postponed because 
the atmosphere and foundation for the meeting is not good as Chinese Premier Wen 
Jiabao described Monday. 
 The Japanese leader's failure to correctly face up to the historical issue by 
successively visiting the Yasukuni shrine was blamed as the cause for the 
country's sour relations with China and South Korea. 
 Negotiations with Russia over the territorial issue were bumpy because of 
Moscow's adamant posture that only two of the four islands off Japan's Hokkaido 
prefecture will be returned in exchange for a bilateral peace treaty. 
 Although the two counties are intended to expand cooperation in economy and 
energy, the political discord is casting a shadow over the prospect. 
 No breakthrough was achieved during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit 
to Japan in late November. Putin raised his concern that the territorial dispute 
could have impact on economic exchanges. 
 Although Tokyo has been pursuing a greater political role in the world to 
match its economic status, Japan's efforts to gain a permanent membership in the 
United Nations Security Council have yield no breakthrough. 
 Caught in a diplomatic standstill in Asia and a series of setbacks may have 
reminded Koizumi the endorsement from the world' s only super power. "The United 
States remains the most indispensable ally to Japan," Koizumi told a press 
conference during US President George W. Bush's November visit. 
 
 
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