Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Chinese government has invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to participate in the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, to be held in Beijing on September 3, 2015.
This is according to a Japanese government source, according to whom the Prime Minister of Japan is "cautious in evaluating the request," because planned events include a military parade.
China formally commemorates "the victory over Japan" each year on the same day. In fact, on September 2, 1945, Tokyo has surrendered to the Allied powers signing a treaty of unconditional surrender, aboard the US battleship Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.
Beijing believes the signing is a "direct consequence" of the war of liberation from Japan led by the Maoist forces (then allied with the nationalists of Chiang Kai-shek).
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying yesterday confirmed that his government "has contacted all relevant nations" to ask the various leaders to attend the event.
A similar celebration will also be held in Moscow where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also been invited expected to attend in what would be the young dictator’s first foreign trip.
The Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga would not comment on the invitation but stressed the importance, for the nations of Asia-Pacific, "to show a common position to address the challenges posed by the international community. This is critical: we need to be focused on the future".
Beijing’s invitation to Shinzo Abe arrives after the meeting between the foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea in Seoul on March 20. Stalled since 2012 by diplomatic tensions, the summit represents an attempt by the three regional powers to plan joint initiatives in economic, political and diplomatic spheres.