[Shadow Kira01]

Ozawa meets Hu, vows to win majority in upper house poll

Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Thursday and voiced his determination to win the House of Councillors election next summer. ‘‘The fight to liberate our country has not yet finished. We have a final battle next summer,’’ Ozawa said, characterizing himself as the ‘‘chief commander’’ in his party’s fight to win a majority in the upper chamber.

Ozawa is on a two-day visit to Beijing through Friday accompanied by more than 600 people, including around 140 DPJ lawmakers and about 400 DPJ supporters. The trip is part of regular exchanges between the DPJ and the Chinese Communist Party, whose general secretary is Hu.

‘‘We are preparing for the battle in July, recruiting soldiers, training them and aiming for victory,’’ Ozawa was quoted as telling Hu by a DPJ lawmaker.

‘‘I would like to do my best as the chief commander up until the end of ‘the liberation war’,’’ Ozawa said. ‘‘By winning a majority in the House of Councillors, we (the DPJ) can build the ground to hold frank, candid and bold discussions with China and deepen bilateral relations.’‘

During the 30-minute meeting, Ozawa and Hu agreed to boost relations between the DPJ and the Chinese Communist Party and to further promote friendly bilateral ties through exchanges of lawmakers.

Ozawa said the talks ‘‘will lead to the development of a friendly relationship between the two countries,’’ while Hu described Ozawa as an old friend of China who has contributed a lot to bilateral ties.

Hu told Ozawa that his three meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama since the launch of the DPJ-led government in September have helped upgrade the two nations’ strategic and mutually beneficial relations, according to DPJ lawmaker Goshi Hosono.

Sea Shepherd may lose ship registry under envisaged Dutch law

The Dutch government plans to submit a bill to the parliament next week to revise a law on ship registration to revoke the registry of protest ships engaged in "inappropriate activity," in response to a Japanese government request to help prevent violent antiwhaling demonstrations.