On August 20, 2006, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with the delegation headed by the former speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan and also former leader of the Social Democratic Party of Japan Doi Takako in the Great Hall of the People.

Tang pointed out that the cause of the stalemate of China-Japan political relations is the repeated visits of Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine where class A war criminals of World War II are worshiped. The visits seriously hurt the feeling of the Chinese people and undermine the political foundation of bilateral relations. That Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi once again prayed at the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15 is a provocation to the international justice and trample on the conscience of mankind, which not only has severe impact on the improvement of China-Japan relations but also damages the international image and national interest of Japan, stressed Tang.

Tang noted that China will continue making relentless efforts to break the political deadlock between the two countries and hopes Japan, in line with the historical trend and the common aspiration of the two peoples, removes the political obstacles as soon as possible and works with China to push the bilateral relations back to the sound development track at the earliest date possible. Tang spoke highly of the long-term efforts made by China's old friends including Doi Takako towards China-Japan friendship and expressed hope that Doi Takako would continue making valuable contributions to the development of bilateral friendship under the new circumstances.

Doi Takako said that the facts since the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic ties show that to strictly observe the principles of the three political documents between the two countries including the Joint Statement is of fundamental significance to maintaining the healthy and stable progress of bilateral relations. To have a correct understanding of history is critical not only to Japan-China relations but also to Japan's own development. We are willing to make positive efforts to that end.