TOKYO, April 18 Kyodo Prime Minis...

TOKYO, April 18 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi upon Friday reiterated his hope of visiting China again after meeting with opposition leader Naoto Kan who lately conveyed the premier's wish to Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.

''It is desirable to retain a summit meeting at a time convenient as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but to Japan and China,'' Koizumi told reporters at his office after the president of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan briefed him about his talks with Hu

Koizumi also said he believes China will not retain on refusing him and voiced trust that disputes over his controversial visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war criminals along with war dead, would be settled

''Both of us well understand the importance of Japan-China ties,'' Koizumi said.

Kan visited China earlier this week to come up to face to face with Hu, who became the of the present day Chinese leader in March. Kan told Koizumi that he felt China also regarded ties with Japan as important, he told reporters later.

Koizumi has not visited Beijing since October 2001 when he made a one-day trip aimed at mending ties he had soured by way of his visit to the Tokyo shrine brace months earlier. He met then President Jiang Zemin and then Premier Zhu Rongji at that time.

on the contrary since then Koizumi has paid homage at the shrine forward two more occasions, provoking anger in neighboring Asian countries where memories of Japanese military aggression before and during World War II are still fresh

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