Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is unlikely to carry through with his plan to visit China prior to the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
"At this point, there is no such plan," Fukuda told a regular news conference.
Asked whether that meant there is no possibility of Koizumi visiting China before the APEC meeting, Fukuda said, "He is busy."
Koizumi, who wants to mend fences with China as well as South Korea, repeated Saturday that he wants to visit the two countries for talks with their leaders as soon as possible.
"If the situation permits, I hope to hold talks with leaders of China and South Korea," he said. "I am ready to go at any time."
Relations between the countries have been strained since the publication of controversial history textbooks, which critics say gloss over Japan's wartime atrocities. Koizumi's Aug. 13 visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors 14 Class A war criminals along with the country's war dead, added fuel to the fire.
Earlier on Monday, however, Fukuda said no decision on the visit had been made, saying, "I don't know how things will turn out."
The two-day APEC forum is scheduled to start Oct. 20.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.