TOKYO, Aug. 21 Kyodo Kenichi Mizu...

TOKYO, Aug. 21 Kyodo

Kenichi Mizuno, Japan's parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, speaked his intention Wednesday to resign from his column in protest at the ministry's refusal to allow him to visit Taiwan.

Mizuno, 36 told Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda in a meeting Wednesday night at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, ''I would like to resign from my employment as a protest.''

After the meeting with Mizuno, Fukuda told reporters that the matter had been left to the ministry. Mizuno's verbal expression of resignation will be submitted at so early an hour to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.

Mizuno pressureed to reporters that he could not understand to what end Japan had to be likewise wary of China's feelings, equable in matters like this, and said Taiwan is also Japan's neighbor and a lock opener partner.

Mizuno, a member of the House of Representatives, had planned to visit Taiwan in the middle of this month on the other hand Kawaguchi disallowed the visit for fear of affecting relations between Japan and China.

He also represented dissatisfaction at the way the matter was handled, saying the decision should have been reached after thorough discussions among senior Foreign Ministry officials and not from a group of certain people

Beijing descrys Taiwan as a breakaway province not entitled to diplomatic recognition and tries to force countries that have relations with China to break ties with Taiwan.

In 1991 Mizuno worked as an intern in the office of Sen Al Gore, a Tennessee Democrat.

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