Japanese gov’t confirms Abe will not visit China next month

Almost 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries will participate in China’s military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on September 03, a military official said on Friday.



Abe had chose to put off a visit “given the situation in parliament”, said top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.

Global audiences have been anticipating what the parade will be like, and the majority expects that the event will not only showcase China’s military prowess, but will also serve as a presentation of the snapshot of the Chinese society.

Kyodo News cited Japanese government sources as saying Monday that Abe will instead aim to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of global gatherings later this year. However, it is not clear if she will be present at the military parade.

Robert Dujarric of Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies located at the Japan campus of Temple University, said that issues between China and Japan are deep and can not be resolved through any summit meeting.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair will also attend too, along with the U.S., German, Canadian and European Union ambassadors, Zhang said.

In a statement earlier this month to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, Mr Abe said that Japan would continue to uphold past apologies to its victims.

Participation is considered problematic because many nations have recently expressed concern over communist China’s aggressive military moves.

“Giving up on a visit to Beijing won’t have a serious impact, and they will have opportunities to meet in other settings.”

Other countries that will send their heads of state to the military parade include Cambodia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, South Africa, Tajikistan and Venezuela.

There are also questions about the optics of foreign leaders attending a military parade adjacent to Tiananmen Square, the heart of 1989’s student-led pro-democracy movement that was bloodily suppressed by the People’s Liberation Army.

On an historical note, Japan invaded China before World War II, and Japan’s well documented brutal treatment of the Chinese during the conflict is still a major undercurrent in Japan – China relations.

China will show its capability to carry out “strategic strike” during the parade in Beijing, according to Qu Rui, a general staff headquarters officer.

China’s Victory Day celebrations will take place on September 3.

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