China said on Wednesday that further development of China-Japan
ties is in the fundamental interests of the two nations and two
peoples and the development momentum of bilateral ties will see
continuous growth.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks when
commenting on the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe.
Abe played an active and constructive role in developing
China-Japan ties, which have scored tangible improvement thanks to
the efforts made by both the Chinese and Japanese governments and
peoples from all walks of life, Jiang said.
Abe offered his resignation Wednesday at a press conference held
at his office, less than a month after he reshuffled the Cabinet
following a crushing defeat of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party
in parliamentary election.
"I made my determination today to step down," Abe told?the
press conference.
Abe said that he quitted "to have the war against terror
continued," since as long as he is premier, the opposition leader
would not agree to talk over the extension of Japan's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean.
It would be better to have a new prime minister pursue the
matter, he said. Abe also said that he had difficulty in
implementing policies and gathering public support.
Abe quitted his post as the president of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) and effectively the post of prime
minister.
However, Abe will continue act as premier until the ruling party
selects a new leader "in at least a month," Kyodo News quoted a LDP
official as saying.
Abe, who took office on September 26 last year, has been plagued
by a series of scandals involving his Cabinet ministers, pension
recording errors, as well as a crushing defeat in July's upper
house election which cost the LDP's decades-long dominance in the
chamber. The support rate for Abe dropped below 30 percent after
the election and has remained low.
On August 27, Abe reshuffled the Cabinet and replaced the
members with veteran politicians to regain public trust. However,
in less than a week, the new Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Minister Takehiko Endo resigned over a scandal involving a farmers'
group that he heads. The internal affairs minister Hiroya Masuda
admitted on Saturday an error in his own political fund report.
Abe hinted at resignation at a press conference after the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Sunday in Sydney, saying
that " I have no intention of clinging to my duties" as prime
minister if he cannot have the parliament agree the extension of
the refueling mission for US-led anti-terrorism operations before
it expires November 1.
During a 62-day extraordinary Diet session started on Monday,
the ruling bloc and oppositions led by the Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ) will debate the issue on anti-terrorism law extension,
which authorizes the dispatch of Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF)
vessels to provide refueling support for the anti-terrorism
operations. The DPJ, who now has majority votes in the House of
Councilors, has repeated its opposition to prolonging the law,
which was originally enacted in October 2001 after the September 11
attacks on the US and has been extended three times.
(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2007)
