China's top legislator Zhao Leji sent a message of condolence on Thursday to the family of Yohei Kono following his death, expressing hope that Kono's family would carry forward his legacy and play a positive role in helping bring China-Japan relations back on the right track.
Kono, who was president of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade and former speaker of Japan's House of Representatives, died at the age of 89 on Monday, Japanese media reported on Wednesday. Kono was also a former president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party.
Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said the veteran Japanese statesman was an old friend of the Chinese people who had long been committed to China-Japan friendship.
He noted that in 1993, Kono, then Japan's chief cabinet secretary, issued the Kono Statement on the issue of "comfort women", which continues to have a positive influence today.
The landmark statement acknowledged the Japanese military's direct involvement in setting up "comfort stations" and forcibly recruiting women on the Korean Peninsula, in China, and elsewhere, and expressed remorse and an apology.
