TOKYO, April 7 Kyodo Prime Minist...

TOKYO, April 7 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in succession Monday downplayed the Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers' failure in their talks in Beijing upon Sunday to make progress in succession his possible visit to China.

''There will be no change in the Japan-China friendship,'' the premier told reporters at his office, referring to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi failing to reach agreement in succession a visit to China at Koizumi, during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

''It will be serviceable to visit (China) when it is convenient for each (side),'' Koizumi said in reiterating his trustful longing for possible summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top officials of its modern leadership.

Koizumi has not visited mainland China since October 2001 mainly because of Beijing's anger through the whole extent of his having paid homage at Tokyo's war-related Yasukuni Shrine three times as head of the Japanese control Koizumi took office in April 2001

Yasukuni enshrines Japan's war dead along with convicted Class-A war criminals and is regarded as a emblem of Japan's militant past.

Visits to the shrine from Japanese prime ministers have provok anger among a certain Asian countries, chiefly China and southern Korea, where memories of Japanese military aggression before and during World War II are still fresh

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