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China urges Japanese leaders to listen to call for peace

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry has urged Japanese leaders to listen to the call for peace and play a constructive role for regional peace and stability.

"China hopes Japan can draw lessons from history, follow the tide of the times, listen to the Japanese public's call for peace, adhere to a path of peaceful development and play a constructive role for regional peace and stability," said Hong Lei at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

Some 50,000 people rallied in Tokyo on Tuesday, Japan's Constitution Memorial Day, to protest against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unwanted attempts to amend the nation's pacifist Constitution.

Hong said the development direction of Japan was always going to be a subject of concern for its Asian neighbors due to Japan's history of aggression.

The spokesperson was also asked to comment on claims by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida during their Europe and Southeast Asia trips that China was militarizing the South China Sea.

"Though a country outside the South China Sea region, Japan has deliberately attempted to make a presence felt on the South China Sea issue...that has simply revealed records of Japan's illegal occupation of China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea during WWII and exposed Japan's current ill intentions on South China Sea issue," he said.

Hong urged Japan to stop meddling in the South China Sea issue.

China has advocated that sovereign disputes in the South China Sea be resolved peacefully through talks between the directly concerned states -- China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. Endi