China, Japan talks on UN reform highlight rift
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-26 21:43

Last week, China also criticized the Japanese foreign minister for saying China's military may threaten Japan's security.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivers a speech during the annual councillors meeting of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) in Tokyo, December 22, 2005. [Reuters]

"One can only question the Japanese foreign minister's real motive for fomenting groundless discussion about a China threat at this time," said Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.

On Monday, Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, said anti-Chinese feeling is spreading in Japan.

"The Japanese right wing and government are shifting domestic public discontent away from long-term economic decline by inciting nationalist sentiment and spreading the doctrine of a China threat," the paper said.

Earlier this year, several Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, saw sometimes violent anti-Japanese protests that were partly driven by opposition to Japanese entry into the U.N. Security Council.