China protests Japan prime minister’s offering to war shrine seen as symbol of militarist past

August 15th, 2009 Japan PM voices deep regret over WWII sufferingTOKYO — Japan's prime minister expressed deep regret over the suffering his country inflicted on Asian countries during World War II in a solemn ceremony Saturday that marked the 64th anniversary of Tokyo's surrender. Prime Minister Taro Aso joined some 4,800 bereaved families to pay respect to 3.1 million Japanese war dead — 2.3 million soldiers and 800,000 civilians — at the Nihon Budokan hall in Tokyo.

August 4th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Over 400,000 pilgrims from all over the country visited the Himalyan Amarnath shrine this year during the two-month long pilgrimage which comes to a close Wednesday. The Charri Mubarak - Hindu lord Shiva's mace - reached Panchtarni Tuesday on the penultimate day of its journey to the cave shrine situated at an altitude of over 13,500 feet.

July 5th, 2009 TOKYO - External Affairs Minister S. M Krishna on Sunday concluded his four-day visit to Japan.

July 4th, 2009 TOKYO - External Affairs Minister S. M Krishna, who is on a four-day visit to Japan, on Saturday inaugurated the new chancery building of the Indian Embassy in Tokyo.

April 29th, 2009 Japanese, Chinese PMs discuss NKorea, economiesBEIJING — Japan's prime minister discussed North Korea's nuclear programs and the need to boost domestic demand to ride out the global financial crisis in talks with his Chinese counterpart Wednesday in Beijing. The talks between Japan's Taro Aso and China's Wen Jiabao were the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between the sides, pointing to a major improvement in ties as both sides try to play down political differences that have plagued the relationship in the past.

April 29th, 2009 Japanese PM Taro Aso meets Chinese counterpartBEIJING — Japan's prime minister and his Chinese counterpart met Wednesday in Beijing for talks on how to ride out the global financial crisis and boost domestic demand in both countries. The discussions between Japan's Taro Aso and China's Wen Jiabao are the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between the sides, pointing to a major improvement in ties as both sides try to play down political differences that have plagued the relationship in the past.

April 27th, 2009 Chinese massacre movie reports strong openingHONG KONG — A new movie backed by the Chinese government about Japanese atrocities during the World War II-era "Nanking Massacre" earned a strong $10 million in its opening week, its director said Monday. "City of Life and Death" deals with the sensitive topic of the 1937 rampage in the eastern city now known as Nanjing.

April 24th, 2009 China announces visit by Japanese leaderBEIJING — Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will make an official visit to China next week, Beijing announced Friday, a day after protesting an offering given by the Japanese leader to a war shrine seen as a symbol of his country's militarist past. A one-line statement from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Aso would visit next Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao.

April 23rd, 2009 China protests Japanese leader's shrine offeringBEIJING — China protested an offering by Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso to a war shrine seen as a symbol of his country's militarist past, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. China expressed its "concern and dissatisfaction" to Japan through diplomatic channels, ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

April 22nd, 2009 Japanese lawmakers visit war shrineTOKYO — Dozens of Japanese lawmakers prayed at a Tokyo war shrine Wednesday, a day after the prime minister annoyed Asian neighbors by sending an offering to the shrine, which is considered a symbol of Japan's militarist past. About 90 lawmakers, mostly members of Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited the Yasukuni Shrine for an annual Shinto festival, a shrine official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

April 21st, 2009 Japan's PM sends offering to war shrineTOKYO — Japan's prime minister has made an offering to a war shrine that many see as a symbol of the country's militarist past, a shrine spokeswoman said Tuesday. While Prime Minister Taro Aso sent a 50,000 yen ($500) flowering evergreen tree to Yasukuni Shrine for a Shinto holiday, the shrine spokeswoman could not confirm whether he visited the shrine Tuesday.

April 11th, 2009 PATTAYA - Clashes between anti-government and pro-government supporters Saturday delayed meetings at a summit of the southeast Asian leaders at the Thai seaside resort of Pattaya. Meetings between South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ministers from China, South Korea and Japan were delayed, but will go ahead, Thai government spokesman Panitan Watanagorn said, rejecting reports that the meetings were cancelled.

March 24th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, Tuesday morning visited Harmandar Sahib, the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, to offer thanksgiving prayers for his successful heart surgery. The prime minister, wearing a grey jacket over white kurta-pyjama, reached the shrine at daybreak amid tight security.

March 24th, 2009 AMRITSAR - A devout Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday morning visited Harmandar Sahib, the holiest of Sikh shrines popularly known as Golden Temple, for offering thanksgiving prayers after his recent successful coronary bypass surgery. Accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, the prime minister, wearing a kurta-pyjama with a half jacket and light blue turban, reached the shrine at daybreak amid tight security.

March 12th, 2009 BEIJING - A research paper issued by the China Policy Institute of the University of Nottingham (UK) has revealed that China is likely to overtake Japan to become the world's second largest economy, either this year or by 2010. Yao Shujie, the author of the research paper told China Daily in a telephonic interview, "Right now, we don't have figures for Japan's GDP in 2008, but I think China may have already overtaken Japan last year." Shujie had predicted in 2007 that China would reach the second position in the world's economic pecking order in 2018.