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Oct. 1, 2008: Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura Takeo meets Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai to ask China’s cooperation to resolve food safety issues. Oct. 2, 2008: Prime Minster Aso Taro, during Diet interpolation, reaffirms his government’s support for 1995 Murayama Statement. Oct. 2, 2008: Defense Ministry dismisses ASDF colonel for allegedly leaking information of a Chinese submarine accident in South China Sea to Yomiuri Shimbun. Oct. 6, 2008: Osaka Municipal Government reports detection of melamine in chocolates imported from China. Oct. 7, 2008: Prime Minister Aso refuses to reply to questions regarding his intention to visit Yasukuni Shrine during autumn festival. October 6, 2008: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture orders tightened inspection regime for pet food product imports from China. Oct. 10, 2008: Japan’s International Exchange Foundation hosts party celebrating establishment of the Japan Cultural Center in Beijing. Oct. 12, 2008: Japanese housewife in Tokyo suburb of Hachioji becomes ill after eating beans imported from China. Japan-China Relations 116 January 2009 Oct. 14, 2008: Japanese Foreign Ministry requests China’s cooperation in addressing the contaminated beans issue. Oct. 17, 2008: 48-member Diet delegation visits Yasukuni Shrine, but no members of Aso Cabinet participate. Oct. 17, 2008: Japan’s Ministry of Defense reports the sighting of a Chinese frigate in international waters off Nagasaki Prefecture. Oct. 17, 2008: Tokyo Metropolitan Police report finding 1 millimeter hole in imported bean package that sickened the Hachioji housewife. Oct. 17, 2008: Japanese Embassy officials visit Chinese bean processing plant. Oct. 21, 2008: Japanese Defense Ministry reports ASDF identified four Chinese warships in international waters off Aomori Prefecture on Oct. 19. Oct. 22, 2008: PLA delegation visits Hiroshima and Atomic Bomb Museum. Oct. 24, 2008: PM Aso meets President Hu and Premier Wen in Beijing during Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit. Afterward, he delivers speech marking 30th anniversary of Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Amity. Oct. 26, 2008: PM Aso, during interview on China Central Television, reaffirms government’s support for 1995 Murayama Statement. Oct. 27. 2008: Toyota Motors announces plan to build new factory in Changchun, Jilin Province. Oct. 29, 2008: Osaka Prefectural Governor Hashimoto attends Nanking symposium on the environment. Oct. 31, 2008: ASDF Chief of Staff Gen. Tamogami is dismissed following publication of his award winning essay “Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?” Oct. 31, 2008: Japan announces intention to claim rights to continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean beyond current EEZ. Nov. 1, 2008: China’s Foreign Ministry takes note of Tamogami firing. Nov. 3, 2008: China’s Foreign Ministry expresses shock and indignation over Tamogami’s views of history. Nov. 3, 2008: Gen. Tamogami is retired. Nov. 7, 2008: Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Saiki Akitaka meets Vice Minister Wu Dawei in Beijing to discuss verification protocols for Six-Party Talks. Japan-China Relations 117 January 2009 Nov. 11, 2008: Gen. Tamogami appears before Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Nov. 11, 2008: Taiwan’s legislature adopts resolution seeking apology and compensation from Japan for Taiwanese women forced into wartime sexual slavery. Nov. 12, 2008: Kanagawa Prefectural Police announce plans to question citizen suspected of brokering organ transplants for Japanese in China in violation of Japan’s organ transplant law. Nov. 13, 2008: PM Aso, appearing before Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, asserts civilian control over SDF is effectively functioning and labels Tamogami’s essay extremely inappropriate. Nov. 19, 2008: Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reports PLA will begin construction of aircraft carrier. Nov. 20, 2008: Japan’s Itochu Corp. announces plans to take 20 percent share in Chinese market-leading food processor Ting Hsin Group. Nov. 21, 2008: Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura announces Dec. 13 as the date for Japan-China-South Korea summit in Fukuoka. . Nov. 22, 2008: PM Aso meets with President Hu on sidelines of APEC meeting in Lima, Peru. The 20 minute meeting focuses on global economic crisis. Dec. 1, 2008: Japan cultural exhibition opens in Nanjing. Dec. 3, 2008: PM Aso meets former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at the prime minister’s official residence. Dec. 5, 2008: Agreement is reached in talks in Taipei on compensation for June accident between Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship and Taiwan fishing boat near Senkaku Islands. Dec. 6, 2008: Foreign Ministry releases its public opinion poll on Japan’s foreign relations with results that point to downward trend in Japan for relations with China. Dec. 8, 2008: ASDF aircraft identify two Chinese maritime research ships operating in Senkaku Islands. The Foreign Ministry issues a protest. Dec. 10, 2008: Visiting Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman asserts Taiwan’s claim to Senkaku Islands during speech at Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club. Dec. 13, 2008: PM Aso and Premier Hu meet in Dazaifu, Fukuoka at Japan-China-South Korea summit. Japan-China Relations 118 January 2009 Dec. 19, 2008: Kirin Holdings announces that in 2007 Japan fell to seventh place in beer consumption. China remains number one for fifth consecutive year. Dec. 20, 2008: Japan’s Ministry of Defense draft budget for 2009 reveals that defense spending will decline for seventh consecutive year and reach a 14-year low. Dec. 22, 2008: Kyodo reports declassified Japanese diplomatic documents reveal that Prime Minister Sato had asked the U.S. in 1965 to use nuclear weapons against China in the event of a Japan-China war. Dec. 23, 2008: China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson announces that China is seriously studying the construction of an aircraft carrier and related issues. Dec. 30, 2008: Asahi Shimbun reports China will begin construction of two aircraft carriers in 2009 with completion date of 2015. Japan-