The Liberal Democratic Party said Thursday that it will postpone approval of a plan to loan 17.2 billion yen to China to protest recent Chinese naval activity in and around Japanese territorial waters, LDP officials said.
The decision was made at a meeting of party panels dealing with foreign affairs; It was the second time the party has delayed a loan to China over the issue, having taken similar action Aug. 9.
The LDP will reconsider the issue after Foreign Minister Yohei Kono visits China on Monday and after Beijing makes an official response, the officials said.
Yasuhisa Shiozaki, head of the LDP foreign affairs division, will meet Kono shortly and brief him on the LDP's position, they said.
The government, which outlined the special loans plan to the LDP on Aug. 2, wanted to receive a formal endorsement at a Cabinet meeting and sign an agreement with China during Kono's visit.
Participants at the LDP meeting voiced opposition to the loans in response to recent alleged Chinese information-gathering activities close to Japanese territorial waters.
Party members said recent Chinese actions were of great concern to Japanese security and sovereignty, and concluded that the LDP cannot endorse the loans at present despite the importance of bilateral relations, the officials said.
The low-interest yen loans had been earmarked for a Beijing railway project and an airport terminal expansion in Xian, Shaanxi Province.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa told a press conference Thursday morning that a decision will be made on the loans after considering the results of Kono's trip.
Civilian and military ships have entered Japan's exclusive economic waters 17 times this year, according to a Foreign Ministry report submitted to the LDP on Aug. 8.