Industry minister Shoichi Nakagawa blasted China's gas exploration projects in the East China Sea on Friday, describing their ongoing progress in defiance of Japan's repeated protests as "outrageous."
Nakagawa said China's policy of proceeding with resource development initiatives while snubbing Japan's repeated requests to halt them was "unacceptable." This attitude "will naturally negatively affect upcoming bilateral talks," he said.
The two countries are scheduled to hold working-level talks on this issue on Monday and Tuesday in Beijing. The meeting will be the second of its kind, following an October gathering in the Chinese capital.
"China has been pushing forward with its projects while trying to hold talks with us," the minister for economy, trade and industry said. "It is like shaking hands with someone with the right hand and striking (that same person) with the left."
Tokyo confirmed via an aerial inspection earlier this week that work is continuing at China's gas fields, he said. The exploration sites are located near the Japan-drawn demarcation line for economic waters between Japan and China.
China does not recognize this line.