Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from Mar 2007 to Jul 2007
: Sapporo High Court rejects an appeal from Chinese laborers seeking compensation for wartime forced labor.
: Kyodo News reports that Song Il-ho, the North Korean ambassador in charge of diplomatic normalization talks with Japan, said that Pyongyang did not see the point of holding bilateral talks when Japan does not have the right attitude.
: Japanese and Chinese diplomats meet in Tokyo on East China Sea issues.
: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs passes the Honda Resolution (HR. 121) by a vote of 39-2.
: U.S. House Resolution 121 passes the House Foreign Affairs Committee, calling for the Japanese government to formally apologize for the “comfort women” issue. The bill moves to a full House vote.
: North Korea announces that it is ready to fulfill their part of the Feb. 13 six-party agreement and allow in International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.
: Tokyo High Court rejects suit by war displaced Japanese women seeking state compensation for inadequate government support/delayed resettlement from China.
: Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reports that North Korea fired one short-range missile into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula.
: Mainichi Shimbun reports that Shigeie Toshinori, ambassador in charge of Okinawa, has been named Japan’s new ambassador to South Korea.
: President Hu meets former Prime Minister Nakasone and members and families of Japan-China Youth Friendship Delegation.
: Council to Consider the Future of Japan and History Education labels Nanjing Massacre a fabrication.
: ROK Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announces that the government will help small-and medium-sized firms advance into the Japanese market to counter the trade deficit with Japan created by the fall in the won-yen exchange rate.
: Sankei Shimbun reports plan to shelve boundary issues in East China Sea and focus on joint development.
: Japan and South Korea sign oil sharing agreement to support each other in the event of supply disruptions.
: Tokyo District Court rules against the pro-Pyongyang group Chongryon to repay ¥62.7 billion in debts to the government-backed Resolution and Collection Corp.
: South Korea’s LG files a counter-suit with the District Court in Texas, against Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi sued LG in April alleging that LG infringed its plasma display-related patents.
: Tokyo and Seoul hold EEZ talks but fail to come to an agreement.
: Family of North Korean defectors arrives in South Korea after two weeks of custody in Japan.
: District Courts in Sapporo and Koichi reject suits brought by war displaced Japanese seeking state compensation for inadequate government support/delayed resettlement from China.
: Japan’s Supreme Court rejects appeal filed by Chinese wartime forced laborers seeking compensation; judgment reaffirms Tokyo High Court June 2006 ruling against plaintiffs on grounds that 20 year statute of limitations had expired.
: Members of the LDP, Democratic Japanese Party, independents, professors, political commentators, and journalists place a counter advertisement “The Facts” in the Washington Post in response to the advertisement “The Truth About Comfort Women” placed April 26.
: A full page advertisement in the Washington Post – running under the header “The Facts” – is taken out by Japanese Diet members and commentators, disputing claims that Japan engaged in “forceful coercion” of “comfort women.”
: Mainichi Shimbun reports that Ministry of Defense is considering appointment of uniformed SDF officer to Japan’s Taiwan Interchange Association.
: Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports Beijing and Tokyo in final stages of coordination for September visit of China Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan.
: South Korean Navy launches its second 1,800-ton submarine Jeong Ji.
: Bank of Korea reports South Korea’s economic growth was lower than most Asian competitors during the first quarter due to a stronger Korean currency and high oil prices.
: The second Korea-China-Japan Industrial Fair takes place for the in Gyeonggi Province, Korea.
: Yamaha Motors announces ¥100 million award in trademark infringement suit brought in Chinese courts.
: Abe and President Hu meet in Germany during G-8 Summit.
: Japan, China, and ROK Foreign Ministers meet in South Korea; a first time event outside an ASEAN Plus Three, ARF, or international conference context.
: FMs of Japan, South Korea, and China meet in Jeju and agree to launch regular shuttle flights connecting the three countries.
: Four North Korean defectors arrive in Japan’s Fukaura port by boat with an aim to reach South Korea. They are put in protective custody for two weeks.
: Japan’s High Court rejects appeals by seven South Korean women demanding the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. pay compensation for forced labor during World War II.
: Former Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui visits Japan; June 7, visits Yasukuni Shrine to pay homage to his brother.
: Foreign Minister Aso meets China’s new Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during Eight Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Hamburg.
: Remembrance ceremonies held at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery to honor unknown military and civilian war dead and those who died in postwar internment camps.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry announces no change in policy toward East China Sea.
: Chinese and Japanese diplomats meet in Beijing to discuss East China Sea issues.
: Sankei Shimbun reports Defense Intelligence Headquarters suspects China of testing over- the-horizon radar in East China Sea.
: South Korean Navy launches first 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer, Sejong the Great.
: Seven private universities (Korea, Sogang, Sungkyunkwan, Yonsei, Ewha, Chungang, and Hanyang) adopt Korean history test requirement as part of college entrance examination beginning 2010.
: The Associated Press reports that the UN Committee Against Torture accused Japan of trying to whitewash its practice of forcing women to becoming sex slaves for the Japanese Imperial Army.
: Senior diplomats from China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea hold first-ever trilateral consultation in Beijing.
: The ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first Korean mission to Japan is held in Shizuoka, Japan.
: Yamaha Motor company prohibited from exporting to China remote-controlled helicopters and components for nine-month period effective May 18.
: Nakayama Kyoko, special advisor to the prime minister on abductees issues, visits Beijing; meets Vice FM Wu; Wu pledges cooperation on the issue.
: Tokyo Gov. Ishihara Shintaro, in a speech given in New York City, calls for equality in the Japan-U.S. relationship.
: South Korea’s Uri Party and Grand National Party voice concerns over Japan’s moves to change its pacifist constitution.
: Upper House of Diet adopts legislation establishing procedures for national referendum to revise constitution.
: Japanese Foreign Ministry announces expansion of visa services for tour Chinese tour groups to consulates in Shenyang and Dairen beginning May 31.
: MSDF participates, with U.S, China, Australia, France, India, in 10-country multilateral exercise off Singapore.
: Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reports that U.S. Secretary of State Rice informed PM Abe that resolution of the abduction issue would not be a precondition to drop North Korea from the list of states sponsoring terrorism during Abe’s visit to Washington, D.C.
: Japan’s Parliament passes bill setting out referendum procedures for constitutional amendment.
: The Joongang Ilbo reports under the title “belated reconciliation” that the descendants of leading Korean, Japanese, and Chinese military figures from Japan’s invasion of the Korean Peninsula in 1592 gathered in Andong, South Korea.
: Xinhua reports extradition from Japan of former head of state-owned enterprise suspected of embezzling public funds.
: Japanese and South Korean defense and foreign affairs officials meet for one-day talks to discuss ways to resolve North Korea’s nuclear program.
: South Korea’s Education Minister Kim Shin-il protests the results of Japan’s examination of 2008 high school textbooks over the descriptions of “comfort women,” Dokdo/Takeshima islets, and Sea of Japan/ East Sea.
: Japan War-Bereaved Association meets to discuss issues related to Yasukuni Shrine and separate enshrinement of Class-A war criminals.
: Abe, when asked about private offering made to Yasukuni Shrine during Spring Festival, refuses to comment on shrine-related issues.
: Japan’s Kyodo News reports that PM Abe sent offerings to Yasukuni Shrine in a “private capacity” in late April. South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry says it was “very regrettable” and calls for a “correct perception of history.”
: Joongang Ilbo reports Japan’s F-22 bid could upset the regional power balance.
: Finance Ministers of ASEAN Plus Three meet in Kyoto to discuss financial cooperation, including currency swaps; agreement reached to establish $2.7 trillion foreign reserve pool.
: The “Plus Three” (Japan, South Korea, and China) countries adopt the Kyoto accord to pool their currencies to prepare for financial crises in the region on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank annual meeting.
: The 60th anniversary of the postwar constitution; Abe calls for review of constitution to allow Japan to exercise right of collective self defense.
: Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution marks 60th anniversary. PM Abe renews his call for revising the charter.
: ROK government announces plans to seize assets gained during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) from alleged collaborator families.
: U.S.-Japan 2+2 statement calls on China to increase military transparency.
: Members of Japan-China parliamentary Friendship Federation, led by former Foreign Ministers Komura and Machimura, meet Premier Wen.
: Japan’s FM Aso Taro warns Pyongyang of tougher sanctions if “the situation continues as it is” ahead of high-level Japan-U.S. security talks.
: Japan’s Supreme Court rules that postwar Japan-China agreements preclude suits against the Japanese government for wartime forced labor compensation.
: PM Abe has summit with President Bush and discusses the North’s nuclear program, “comfort women,” and other bilateral issues.
: Asahi Shimbun publishes excerpts from diary of former Grand Chamberlain to Showa Emperor indicating emperor’s displeasure at enshrinement of Class-A war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine.
: 121 Coalition, a group created to support the passage of House Resolution 121 that calls upon the Japanese government to apologize for using women and girls as sex slaves, takes a full-page ad out in the Washington Post calling attention to the “comfort women” issue.
: LDP Diet members Yamasaki and Kato visit China; April 28 meet with Vice Foreign Minister Wu, State Councilor Tang; April 29 visit China-North Korea border.
: The Choson Ilbo reports that Japan will have 2.14 jobs per job seeker, the highest ratio since 1992, next spring due to the “Koizumi Reforms.”
: Hundreds of South Korean fans greet Kimura Takuya, a popular Japanese celebrity, at Busan’s Gimhae Airport. Kimura is on location in Busan to film a cinematic version of the Japanese hit drama “Heroes.”
: 121 Coalition, a group created to support the passage of House Resolution 121 that calls upon the Japanese government to apologize for using women and girls as sex slaves, takes a full-page ad out in the Washington Post calling attention to the “comfort women” issue.
: A senior White House official confirms that Tokyo is considering purchasing F-22 Raptor fighter jets from the U.S., putting South Korea on alert.
: Thirty-nine Diet members visit Yasukuni Shrine for Spring Festival.
: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s Nakagawa Shoichi announces LDP intention to set up special committee to study right of collective self-defense; government announcement follows on April 25.
: In response to documents from International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) relating to the issue of “comfort women,” Abe government reverses March 16 statement of no direct evidence linking Imperial Army or government to coercion of “comfort women”; accepts judgment of IMTFE, which found Japanese army responsible for war crimes.
: Upper House of Diet approves legislation aimed at protecting Japanese interests in East China Sea.
: Maritime Self-Defense Force conducts joint exercise with U.S. and Indian Navies off Boso Peninsula.
: Japanese government decision to build a hotline to connect Japanese and Chinese military defense officials.
: Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki criticizes North Korea for failing to meet the deadline to close the Yongbyon reactor site.
: On Fuji television program, Nakagawa Shoichi expresses displeasure with results of summit.
: South Korea’s Korea Times reports that President Roh Moo-hyun warned Japan “to stay away from its misguided nationalism … to remove a major stumbling block to regional cooperation and peace” in an article in the latest issue of Global Asia.
: North Korea misses the deadline to close the Yongbyon nuclear reactor site as mandated by the Feb. 13, 2007 agreement.
: Lower House of Diet adopts legislation establishing procedures for national referendum to revise constitution.
: Japan’s Lower House passes a bill on national referendums in a bid to revise the pacifist constitution.
: First meeting of Japan-China High-Level Economic Dialogue.
: Japan’s police adds names of two children missing since the 1970s to their official abductee list.
: China’s National Offshore Oil Corporation releases 2006 annual report, announcing beginning of natural gas production in East China Sea.
: Wen visits Japan; April 11 meets with Abe; April 12 addresses Diet; April 13 in Osaka and Kyoto.
: Xinhua reports discovery of abandoned munitions in Heilongjjang Province.
: Japan’s Cabinet approves a six-month extension of trade sanctions against Pyongyang.
: Asahi Shimbun reports agreement to facilitate disposal of chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Imperial Army.
: Japanese and Chinese technical experts meet in Beijing to discuss East China Sea issues.
: Wen meets with Japanese media in Beijing; previews trip.
: Nakagawa Shoichi, chairman of Policy Research Council, blasts Chinese actions in East China Sea.
: Foreign Ministers Aso Taro and Li Zhaoxing meet in New Delhi during SAARC conference; finalize agenda for Wen visit.
: PM Abe Shinzo says Japan wants a free trade agreement with South Korea and both sides need to make efforts to resume negotiations.
: Chinese and Japanese diplomats meet in Beijing to discuss East China Sea issues in advance of Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Japan.
: National Diet Library releases documents related to Yasukuni Shrine.