Wen turns down Japanese invitation

Premier Wen Jiabao declined an invitation to visit Japan, saying he would prefer to visit the country when China-Japan relations were more amicable, according to Japanese media reports. The invitation was extended to Wen by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi during a visit to Beijing. Relations between China and Japan are strained over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni war shrine and a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyu Islands in China), which are administered by Japan but are claimed by the mainland and Taiwan.