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Diplomatic visits by heads of state are mostly symbolic affairs, concerned less with ironing out differences than with paying respects in a formal, stylized setting. In that sense, China President Hu Jintao's upcoming trip to Japan - the first by a Chinese head of state since 1998 - is expected to be run of the mill. The meticulously scripted itinerary calls for Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to play host as Hu strolls through Yokohama's Chinatown, visits temples in Nara and dines at the Imperial Palace. On May 8 at Waseda University in Tokyo, Fukuda's alma mater...
...Fukuda's precarious situation makes it especially important that Hu's visit goes smoothly. Since hitting a low point in 2005, when thousands of Chinese staged anti-Japanese protests in major Chinese cities, typically frosty political relations between the two countries have been warming up a bit - and because of China's growing economic power, it's crucial to Tokyo that this trend continues. (China last year surpassed the U.S. as Japan's largest export destination.) Like Abe, Fukuda has avoided angering Beijing by refraining from official visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, including 14 convicted...
...just been too much history between the two countries. But ties have improved lately and Beijing's Olympic torch made its tour of Nagano City without much incident last week (unlike a later, tumultuous journey through South Korea). But now, just as Tokyo is about to welcome Chinese President Hu Jintao on a relatively extended state visit, a strange omen has occured: Ling Ling, the only panda that China has given rather than loaned to Japan, has died...
...news is that Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda may ask Hu for a new panda. (Japan has eight pandas on loan from China.) The sad passing of Ling Ling could thus become an opportunity for the Chinese President to dramatically improve ties between Tokyo and Beijing. He is already getting the full VIP treatment during his May 6 to 10 tour. Hu will meet with Fukuda, then with the Emperor and Empress, and visit Yokohama's Chinatown as well as the historic city of Nara and the financial center of Osaka. Symbolically, it is already an important trip...
...politics dogged the torch's journey through Europe and the U.S., sparking protest about China's human rights record and its treatment of Tibet. Japan knew the relay needed to be calm to maintain the recent easing of historical tensions between the Japanese and the Chinese. Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit Japan May 6-10, the first visit by a Chinese head of state since Jiang Zemin came to Tokyo...