Japan's Noda to seek more stable ties with China

NEW YORK: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Friday he would work to stabilize and deepen ties with China that have been roiled by disputes over territory and wartime history.

Noda, who took over this month as Japan's sixth leader in five years, made his diplomatic debut at the United Nations this week and will also represent Japan in coming months at Asia-Pacific summits and the G20 meeting in France.

"From a very broad perspective, we shall strive to promote relations (so) that they will stabilize and we need to further deepen mutually beneficial relations based on strategic interest," he told a news conference.

The 54-year-old former finance minister noted that next year marked the 40th anniversary since diplomatic ties were established between Tokyo and Beijing after decades of hostility as a result of Japan's 1931-45 invasion of China.

Noda's predecessor, Naoto Kan, a year ago became embroiled a contentious dispute with China, first arresting a Chinese trawler captain in disputed waters and then letting him go, drawing domestic criticism that he had caved in to Beijing.

Noda indicated he would try to contain such conflicts.

"Of course, at times problems occur, and it is precisely on such occasions that we engage in efforts from a broad perspective so that those incidents will not affect the overall relationship between the two countries," he said.

NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had invited him to visit China, Noda said, adding he was making arrangements for a trip.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly earlier on Friday, Noda said North Korea's nuclear and missile programs "pose a threat to the entire international community" and urged Pyongyang to remove these threats.

"North Korea at one time committed to denuclearization," he later told a news conference. "I think it is necessary to demonstrate that commitment with concrete action, that the agreement will be implemented."

Japan, South Korea and the United States would coordinate policy closely to press North Korea to move.

"We will also be asking Russia and China to step up their approaches to North Korea," he said.

Noda thanked the General Assembly for the international outpouring of sympathy and help after Japan's March 11 triple disaster -- an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people and triggered a nuclear reactor explosion.

He pledged Japanese support for global efforts to fight piracy in seas near Somalia, to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan and to back nation-building efforts and the security work of the UN mission in South Sudan, the world's newest country.

"Japan is faced with numerous challenges, but instead of turning inward looking, we intend to make better contributions to the international community," Noda told reporters.

Copyright Reuters, 2011