Japan’s Akihito Gets a Personal China Invitation

Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin on Tuesday injected what is rapidly becoming a political issue into a meeting with Japan’s apolitical Emperor Akihito and offered a heart-warming gesture of gratitude to an old, ailing politician.

Still awaiting a reply to repeated invitations that China has extended to Akihito and Empress Michiko, Jiang told the emperor directly, “I expect to welcome you in China this fall.”

Jiang made the unusual direct appeal a day after Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, mindful of opposition from within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told him the government is still studying the invitation. Jiang’s new entreaty, however, produced only the same answer he got from Miyazawa.

“Thank you for the invitation. I understand the government is studying this matter seriously,” the emperor was quoted as replying as he and his wife welcomed Jiang at their palace for a 20-minute chat and a 90-minute luncheon.

Later, Jiang paid a call upon former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, 73, the man who established diplomatic relations with Beijing 20 years ago, and wished him a recovery from a crippling stroke he suffered in 1985.

Tanaka was shown on TV for the first time in years as a shell of the former kingpin who dominated ruling-party politics from 1972 until he suffered the stroke. Tanaka’s face was bloated, and he was unable to speak or use his right arm. He appeared to be crying when Jiang shook his left hand to say goodby.

Later, Jiang explained his direct invitation to the emperor in a series of meetings with leaders of Japan’s political parties. China, he said, believes that exchanges at the highest level should occur between the two Asian giants. A trip by Akihito and Empress Michiko, which would be the first ever to China by a Japanese monarch, would symbolize an elevation of China-Japan relations.