JCP Shii comments on Abe-Hu talks

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on October 8 published the following comment on the summit talks held on the same day in Beijing between Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

We welcome the outcome of the summit talks that took place with a Japanese prime minister visiting China for the first time in five years. Both sides agreed to “make efforts to build a “mutually beneficial relationship based on a common set of strategic interests."

I hope that this agreement will help promote friendly relations between our two countries.

If Japan and China are to develop true friendship, it is essential to remove obstacles related to historical issues and work to resolve the fundamental issues involved.

In this sense, I think it’s important that the two leaders have agreed to face history and to launch a joint study on history research by experts from both countries by the end of this year.