Japan, China agree to conduct joint study of wartime history

HANOI (AP) Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, agreed Thursday to conduct a joint study of the two nations' disputed wartime history and issue results by the end of 2008, a Japanese official said.

Aso and Li decided in Hanoi to set up two teams of experts to study ancient, wartime and modern history, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with policy.

Their meeting was part of a recent rapprochement between Japan and China, which held a summit last month in an effort to reverse a steep decline in ties amid disputes over history, territory and drilling for offshore gas deposits.

The joint historical study is aimed at resolving deep differences in the interpretations of the two neighbors' past. China regularly accuses Japan of whitewashing atrocities committed during its early 20th century conquest of parts of China.

"The purpose of this joint study is to deepen the objective understanding of history," the Japanese official said.

Chinese officials were not available for comment. However, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Li told Aso that the two nations should work together to "properly handle sensitive issues between the two countries so that overall bilateral relations will not be disturbed."

Li lauded the improvement in ties since a visit to China by recently elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"This is the hard-won result through the joint efforts of both sides, which we should cherish dearly," Xinhua quoted Li as saying.

The report said Aso was willing to "join hands with the Chinese side" to promote rapprochement. China has objected in particular to Japanese government approval of history textbooks that critics say omit or soften accounts of Japanese during the war.