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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| No Meeting With Leader of Japan, Chinese Say | No Meeting With Leader of Japan, Chinese Say |
| (30 days later) | |
| BEIJING — China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Chinese leaders, angered over a visit last week by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to a contentious war shrine in Tokyo, would not meet with Mr. Abe. | BEIJING — China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Chinese leaders, angered over a visit last week by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to a contentious war shrine in Tokyo, would not meet with Mr. Abe. |
| A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said at a regularly scheduled news conference in Beijing that Mr. Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which pays tribute to some war criminals among the dead, was tantamount to honoring “fascists” and “the Nazis of Asia.” Mr. Qin’s statements were the strongest public remarks made by China against Mr. Abe. | |
| Mr. Abe has been asking for high-level talks with China to discuss points of tension in East Asia. In recent years, the China-Japan relationship has worsened because of disputes over territory in the East China Sea. Most recently, Japan and other countries expressed surprise and anger over China’s efforts to expand its flight identification zone in the region. | Mr. Abe has been asking for high-level talks with China to discuss points of tension in East Asia. In recent years, the China-Japan relationship has worsened because of disputes over territory in the East China Sea. Most recently, Japan and other countries expressed surprise and anger over China’s efforts to expand its flight identification zone in the region. |
| Japan has also encountered friction with South Korea, which, like China, expressed anger at Mr. Abe’s visit to the shrine. The visit was the first by a sitting head of government in Japan since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went there in 2006. That visit also stirred rage in the region. | Japan has also encountered friction with South Korea, which, like China, expressed anger at Mr. Abe’s visit to the shrine. The visit was the first by a sitting head of government in Japan since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went there in 2006. That visit also stirred rage in the region. |
| Mr. Qin said that the visit by Mr. Abe “betrayed” previous agreements and understandings that had been reached by China and Japan and damaged “the political foundation between the two countries.” | Mr. Qin said that the visit by Mr. Abe “betrayed” previous agreements and understandings that had been reached by China and Japan and damaged “the political foundation between the two countries.” |
| “It is Abe himself who closed the door of conversation with Chinese leaders,” Mr. Qin added. | “It is Abe himself who closed the door of conversation with Chinese leaders,” Mr. Qin added. |
| The Yasukuni shrine, an institution of the Shinto religion, honors ordinary soldiers who died fighting in World War II but has long generated enmity among the Chinese because among its honorees are Class A war criminals. These former officials were convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East after Japan’s defeat in the war, and the Class A designation means that they had taken part in top-level decisions on the war’s execution. | |
| “Since Abe stepped into power, he has made many mistakes in his relations with China, especially in his visit to the shrine where many Class A war criminals are worshiped,” Mr. Qin said. “They are the historic sinners of the Far East Military Tribunal. Their hands are stained with the blood of the people of victimized nations. They are fascists. They are the Nazis of Asia.” | “Since Abe stepped into power, he has made many mistakes in his relations with China, especially in his visit to the shrine where many Class A war criminals are worshiped,” Mr. Qin said. “They are the historic sinners of the Far East Military Tribunal. Their hands are stained with the blood of the people of victimized nations. They are fascists. They are the Nazis of Asia.” |
| Mr. Abe, in formal dress, visited the shrine on Thursday, with news helicopters flying overhead. The event was broadcast live on television, though TV cameras were not allowed into the shrine’s inner sanctum. | Mr. Abe, in formal dress, visited the shrine on Thursday, with news helicopters flying overhead. The event was broadcast live on television, though TV cameras were not allowed into the shrine’s inner sanctum. |
| Mr. Abe is known for holding conservative views on Japanese history. Though he did not visit the shrine during his first period as prime minister, from 2006 to 2007, he has since expressed regret over that. | Mr. Abe is known for holding conservative views on Japanese history. Though he did not visit the shrine during his first period as prime minister, from 2006 to 2007, he has since expressed regret over that. |
Ye Fanfei contributed research. | Ye Fanfei contributed research. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: January 29, 2014 | |
Because of an editing error, an article on Dec. 31 about the refusal of Chinese leaders to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to protest his visit to a contentious war shrine in Tokyo misspelled the name of the shrine in some editions. It is the Yasukuni shrine, not Yasakuni. The article also described incorrectly the shrine in some editions. While it pays tribute to some war criminals from the World War II era, it does not house their remains. |