Japan says Abe’s quotes about China were ‘misleading’

TOKYO – Japan sought Thursday to clarify comments about China that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made to The Washington Post this week, with a top government spokesman saying that quotations published by the newspaper were “misleading.”The Post had quoted Abe as saying that China’s Communist Party had a “deeply ingrained” need to spar with Japan and other Asian neighbors over territory, because the government uses such conflicts to win strong support from citizens whose education system emphasizes patriotism and “anti-Japanese sentiment.”“There is no comment made by the prime minister as saying that China wants to clash or [have] collision with other countries,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. “As I said, as the prime minister said, we value mutually beneficial relations with China based on strategic interests.”Japan’s response came after China denounced Abe for the reported remarks. Abe met with President Obama on Friday at the White House, where they discussed Japan’s potential interest in joining the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Parternship free trade negotiations. Agencies