WORLD : Kaifu Declines China Invitation
Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu declined an invitation to visit China and will skip the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Beijing in September, his spokesman said today.
“The prime minister has already declined an invitation to visit China, and his position will remain unchanged,” the prime minister’s spokesman, Misoji Sakamoto, said. The Asian Games are scheduled to begin Sept. 22.
A senior Foreign Ministry official visited Beijing this week, and there had been speculation that Kaifu might make a China trip after his announcement at the Houston economic summit that Japan would resume a $5.4-billion aid package to China.
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