'Positive energy' can help China-Japan relationship: Fukuda  

福田康夫：愿中日共同积聚两国关系发展“正能量”

19日下午，日本前首相福田康夫在位于东京的日本众议院第一议员会馆会见中国地方新闻干部访日团一行。他表示，希望中日双方共同努力，不断积聚两国关系发展的“正能量”，早日使中日关系得到改善。

Tokyo (CNS) -- Japan's former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda met with a delegation of Chinese media in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying he hopes China and Japan can join hands in gathering "positive energy" for a sound relationship.

During the meeting, Fukuda said that although some Japanese politicians' decisions led to the soured China-Japan relationship, the large majority of the public in Japan hope to see an improved relationship with China.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations. The two sides had planned over 600 celebration events. Although some of the events were canceled due to the soured relationship, 500 events went on as planned, demonstrating the willingness of the two sides to improve the bilateral relationship.

Fukuda said he learned a good Chinese phrase, "zheng neng liang", which means "positive energy", while visiting Beijing recently, adding that the phrase can also be applied to the current China-Japan relationship. "Both China and Japan should give full play to the rule of 'positive energy' and put ourselves in each others' shoes, so as to improve the relationship between China and Japan as soon as possible," he said.

The visit to Japan by the Chinese local media delegation was organized by the China International Publishing Group (CIPG), and the tour was sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation of Japan.