Spokesman: Japan should observe its commitment

Japan should observe its commitment as made in the four-point agreement that the two countries reached recently, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said here Saturday.

"We urge the Japanese side to live up to its commitment, show sincerity and take concrete action to maintain and implement the four-point agreement between China and Japan," Hong said in a press release.

Hong made the remarks in response to a written reply that the Japanese cabinet made on Friday on the issues of Diaoyu Islands and the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japanese Kyodo news agency reported on Friday that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the visit by the prime minister to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is among the "political difficulties" Japan and China have agreed to overcome. Kyodo said the cabinet made the remark in a written reply to Japan Innovation Party lawmaker Nobuhiko Isaka.

Hong said the Diaoyu Island and its adjacent isles have always been an inherent part of China's territories since ancient times, over which China owns indisputable sovereignty. He said the Chinese government has a firm and unchangeable will and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty and integrity of its territories.

"We demand the Japanese side stop all activities that undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Hong said.

"The Chinese side adamantly opposes Japanese leaders to visit in any forms the Yasukuni Shrine that honors A-class war criminals of the World War II and glorifies Japan's aggression war," Hong said.

The spokesman demands the Japanese side squarely face and thoroughly retrospect its history of aggression.