is the reason why China's image, for the most part, comes out (to the international community as) negative," Miyamoto said, adding that he hopes to urge China to take steps toward more disclosure of its defense spending and convince the country that such a move would be to its own benefit.
Miyamoto meanwhile denied the argument that China poses a threat to Japan, and questioned whether the country could even be called a potential threat.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso has repeatedly said China is beginning to pose a "considerable threat," sparking outcries from Beijing.
Miyamoto's most pressing job is to help mend bilateral ties, which have deteriorated in part due to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
His most recent shrine visit was in October.
China, which suffered Japanese aggression from 1931 to 1945, criticizes Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni, where 14 Class-A war criminals are enshrined alongside Japan's war dead.
Miyamoto, a China expert and career diplomat who once served as a minister at the embassy in Beijing, said Japan and China should continue working-level talks, including those designed to resolve the dispute over gas exploration rights in the East China Sea, despite a halt in bilateral talks at the top level.
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