Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka on Monday said the riots in Lhasa, capital city of China's Tibet autonomous region, will not affect the planned visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan.

The incident will not have an impact on President Hu's visit to Japan, Yabunaka told a news conference.

He said that Japan hopes that the situation will settle down peacefully soon. 　

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2008)