Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka criticized some foreign media entities Wednesday for misunderstanding and falsely reporting his remarks during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit last week.
"An English newspaper misunderstood my remarks, and they were also reported falsely in a Chinese newspaper," Nonaka told a regular news conference. "I feel perplexed and disappointed by the fact that the totally opposite import from what I meant has been reported."
The two nations' bitter past was a focus of Jiang's historic visit to Tokyo. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Jiang announced a joint declaration, but the declaration failed to include Japan's apology to China.