Top Chinese official tries to calm food fears in Japan
TOKYO (AFP) — A senior Chinese official expressed sympathy Thursday to Japanese people who fell ill by eating frozen food made in China and tried to calm fears with a pledge that Beijing was investigating.
In a speech delivered in fluent Japanese on a visit to Tokyo, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said food safety was a global concern.
"I offer my sincere sympathy to the victims of this incident," Tang said in the address, delivered hours before he was to meet with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
He added that he hoped for a swift investigation into the case through cooperation between Japan and China.
The former Chinese foreign minister came to Japan Wednesday for a five-day trip aimed at laying the groundwork for a landmark visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, expected around April.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made a visit filled with friendly gestures last year as Asia's two largest economies try to mend relations long strained by wartime history and territorial disputes.
But Tang, seen as a Japan expert, came amid high public fears in Japan after 10 people suffered pesticide poisoning from eating Chinese-made frozen dumplings.
One of them, a five-year-old girl, fell temporarily unconscious and required a month of hospital care after eating a dumpling that was laced with a pesticide not widely available in Japan.
The report led thousands of Japanese people to complain about feeling ill after eating dumplings from China.
Food distributors and importers recalled their Chinese-made food products after saying they also contained toxic pesticides.
Senior police officials from the two nations began a meeting Thursday over the issue in Tokyo. China has urged Japan not to rush to conclusions.
"We came here to exchange information and cooperate with the Japanese authorities so we can have an early resolution of this incident," Yu Xinmin, who is leading the Chinese team of investigators, told public broadcaster NHK.
Hiroto Yoshimura, head of the National Police Agency, separately told reporters that the pesticide in the dumplings were found inside the packages sealed in China.
