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Sino-Japan ties not affected by PM’s resignation

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-02 14:59

The resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will not have a bad influence on Sino-Japan relations, a Chinese?expert said Wednesday.

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Liu Jiangyong, vice director at the International Culture Research Institution of Tsinghua University, said in a telephone interview conducted by China National Radio that Hatoyama’s decision to resign was due to his handling of a plan to relocate a US military facility in Okinawa as well as the government’s financial scandal last year, which deprived him of public trust. So the Sino-Japan relations will not be greatly affected.

Liu also speculated that Hatoyama may want to gain the public’s support for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan ahead of the election for the upper house, set for July 11. But the resignation may result in the opposite effect as the position of the party could be shaken.