TOKYO (AFP) — Japan on Friday regretted it would unlikely agree with China any time soon on their claims to the energy-rich East China Sea and urged Beijing to be more "practical" to break the impasse.
Asia's two largest economies are both major energy importers and have a long-running row over access to lucrative gas fields in contested waters.
Japan said it was giving up hope for a deal in time for a visit to China by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, which is expected later this year although no date has been set.
"We initially planned to have a certain working-level agreement by autumn and confirm it at the summit level when the prime minister visits China by the end of the year," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.
"We regret very much that we have not reached the situation to make an agreement by autumn," the top government spokesman said.
"It is regrettable that the Chinese side has not made a practical and full-fledged proposal. I hope China will make a concrete proposal soon by taking a stance to resolve this issue more actively," he said.
Japan and China have held regular talks on the dispute since 2004, with the latest round held in Beijing last week.
China began drilling in the gas-rich area in 2003, provoking outrage in Tokyo.
China rejects a maritime border which Japan takes as the starting point for discussions. Beijing says its economic zone stretches nearly as far east as Japan's Okinawa island chain.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who took office last month, is known for his conciliatory views towards China, which often clashes with Japan over wartime memories.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on a rare visit to Tokyo in April, called for the two countries to resolve the maritime row peacefully, although Beijing has stood by its territorial claims.
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