Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Chile.

SANTIAGO, Chile-Chinese President Hu Jintao told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine are the biggest obstacles to improving Japan-China relations.

Hu's strong message was conveyed Sunday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting.

Koizumi and Hu have met three times, but the latest meeting was the first in which the Chinese president has directly touched upon the Yasukuni issue and asked that Koizumi stop future visits.

Koizumi reiterated his past stance on the shrine.

When later asked by reporters if he planned to visit Yasukuni next year, the prime minister said, ``Since there are many important issues in Japan-China relations besides Yasukuni, I have decided not to say anything about it.''

His hourlong meeting with Hu was about 30 minutes longer than originally scheduled.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan, Hu told Koizumi: ``The biggest reason for difficulties in the political relationship between China and Japan is the visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Japan's leaders. Using history as a mirror, I hope the matter is settled satisfactorily with the spirit of looking toward the future.''

According to Japanese officials who briefed reporters, Hu also said: ``We cannot avoid history. I hope the matter is settled satisfactorily. Next year will be a delicate time, commemorating the 60th year since the victory over the fascists.''

The Japanese officials quoted Koizumi as saying: ``It is important to cherish history. ... I have made the visits in order to pledge to never again go to war while also offering my deepest feelings of sympathy for those individuals who gave up their lives on the battle field.''

Chinese officials explained that in his response to Hu about the Yasukuni visits, Koizumi said, ``I sufficiently understand the position of China.''

China has used the Yasukuni visits as its reason for refusing to respond to requests for mutual state visits by the leaders of the two nations. Beijing has agreed to summits in third countries, but Hu's direct mention of the Yasukuni issue to Koizumi could indicate that such meetings may be placed on hold if Koizumi continues to visit the shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's war dead, including Class-A war criminals.

One hint of China's tougher stance is that the Koizumi-Hu meeting was not agreed to until a meeting Thursday of the two nations' foreign ministers.

Some Japanese Foreign Ministry officials were hopeful that the agreement by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to a summit in Chile was an indication that China might not even mention Yasukuni during the Koizumi-Hu talks.

Other ministry officials took the agreement as a sign that Beijing was considering setting the stage in Chile for a resumption of mutual state visits, which have been suspended for more than three years. However, there was no mention of state visits during the meeting between Koizumi and Hu.

Some Chinese officials had argued against a summit in Chile, but China bent, according to analysts, because although Japan is China's largest trading partner there are signs that Japanese companies are cutting the pace at which they invest in the country.

Hu also faced the risk that a meeting with Koizumi would be seen as Beijing's acceptance of the Yasukuni visits.

However, Chinese sources said Hu decided to meet with Koizumi because of the argument that directly passing on China's position to Koizumi would be better in the long run.

The two leaders also discussed the matter of the Chinese nuclear submarine intruding into Japanese territorial waters earlier this month.

Koizumi said it was especially important to implement measures to prevent a recurrence.

The two leaders agreed that outstanding issues should be resolved from the standpoint of considering the bigger picture of promoting mutual friendly relations.

Another issue of contention between the two nations is China's development of gas fields under the East China Sea.

Koizumi said: ``It is important to handle the matter appropriately. It will be important to avoid turning the East China Sea into a sea of confrontation.''

Koizumi also asked that China submit data pertaining to the gas fields.

After the meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong told reporters the two leaders had agreed to resolve the issues surrounding the East China Sea through mutual dialogue.

In touching upon the Taiwan issue, Hu said, ``The Taiwan independence movement is the source of tension across the Taiwan Strait.''

Koizumi said Japan did not support Taiwan independence and asked that relations between China and Taiwan be improved through dialogue.(IHT/Asahi: November 23,2004)