Japan confirms China meeting

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Japan said Saturday that its Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao in an effort to settle an ongoing dispute over its handling of its wartime atrocities.

The announcement came a day after Koizumi apologized for his country's World War II aggression in an apparent bid to defuse current tensions, which have been marked by massive anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities.

The meeting would take place along the sidelines of a summit of Asian and African leaders in Jakarta Saturday evening.

"The prime minister said they will talk about friendship and cooperation, which are the key to prosperity of the region," said Akira Chiba, a spokesman for Koizumi's delegation. "We were very eager to meet each other and we are happy that it's happening.

There was no immediate response from China.

But even as Japan apologized, it blunted that message when Japanese lawmakers Friday visited a war shrine critics say glorifies Tokyo's militaristic past.

A Chinese official welcomed the apology but added that "what's of much more importance is the action. You have to make it a reality."

Koizumi's expression of "deep remorse" broke no new ground, but the rare appeal was a clear attempt to reverse the worst erosion of ties between Tokyo and Beijing since diplomatic relations were established in 1972.

"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 opening ceremony for the summit in Jakarta, conveying Tokyo's "deep remorse and heartfelt apology" for its conquests.

"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility," he said.

Koizumi's choice of showing contrition at an international forum overseas put him squarely before many former victims of Japan's atrocities, which include mass sex slavery and germ warfare.

It also marked the first statement of remorse from a Japanese leader since 1995 and the first outside of Japan since Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu apologized for wartime brutalities in Singapore in 1991.

However, Koizumi's remarks were a far cry from what many Asian nations have long clamored for: a strongly worded official statement of apology endorsed by Parliament.

Rhetoric alone appears unlikely to smooth over Tokyo's rift with Beijing.