Ex-deputy premier Gotoda to visit China for talks with leaders

Asian Political News, Oct 25, 2004

TOKYO, Oct. 22 Kyodo

Former Deputy Prime Minister Masaharu Gotoda will make a four-day visit to China from Tuesday for talks with top leaders, sources close to his office said Friday.

The visit is being made at the invitation of Chinese State Counselor and former Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, and Gotoda will meet President Hu Jintao or Premier Wen Jiabao and some officials familiar with the bilateral relations during his stay in Beijing.

He also plans to deliver a speech at Qinghua University.

Relations between Japan and China have been strained because of the controversial visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The Shinto shrine honors Japanese war dead, including Class-A war criminals. China regards the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression before and during World War II.