"Honestly, I think the United States should be doing … much more than now, so that there's real effective international cooperation on this issue," Cui said

The opposition camp, however, has criticized Abe's move to call a snap election, with some accusing him of merely trying to escape from the influence-peddling scandals he is currently implicated in and engineering his stay in power"Nikai on Tuesday, during a meeting of ruling LDP executives reportedly conveyed Abe's intentions and relayed the party's determination to get all of its candidates fielded in the race

Prior to Abe's departure Monday for a five-day trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Abe told Nikai during a meeting that he "will decide on the timing of the snap election after returning from the UN General Assembly on FridayAbe last dissolved the lower house of parliament in November 2014 and thereafter led the ruling coalition to a sweeping victory in the following election in DecemberIn addition, the fact that new opposition parties in the process of being formed will not have time to organize themselves and mount a serious challenge to Abe and the LDP in such a short space of time, has made many political watchers question Abe's regard for democracy and the will of the people

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is gearing up to dissolve the lower house of parliament and call a snap general election, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai confirmed on TuesdayThe support rate for Abe's cabinet has improved moderately recently, and the opposition camp has accused the prime minister of taking advantage of this and have slammed the possible general election as being unnecessary and serving Abe's personal, not political objectives

The application for UNESCO heritage status submitted by more than 10 groups from China, the Republic of Korea and other countries and regions will "allow the world to fully understand the brutality of the war of agrression, remember history, cherish peace and defend human dignity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular news briefing

BEIJING -- Japan should act correctly towards an application for records of comfort women to be listed as UNESCO heritage, instead of threatening not to pay its UNESCO membership fees, a Chinese spokesperson said Monday"Everybody else will have to do their share; they cannot leave this issue to China alone," Cui said

The ambassador said China has done its best to implement the UN Security Council resolutions in a strict and full fashion, while pushing for relevant parties to resolve problems through peaceful negotiations"China is not the driver behind the escalation of the tensions

All relevant parties should remain calm and avoid actions that intensify tensions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean earlier in the day"It's irresponsible and unhelpful for the settlement of the issue to unjustly blame others and shirk responsibilities in any form," she added

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