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US praises Japan PM as 'statesman'
The United States on Monday praised Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan as a "statesman" in his handling of a crisis with China, as he weathered accusations at home that he looked weak.
Japan last week released a captain of a Chinese boat caught near disputed islands after intense pressure from Beijing. Tokyo, however, has refused China's demands to apologize and urged the release of four detained Japanese.
Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, praised Kan along with his new foreign minister, Seiji Maehara.
"I must say I think Prime Minister Kan has dealt with this issue -- it's a difficult issue -- in a very statesmanlike fashion," Campbell told reporters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"It, I think, shows a vision and an appreciation of how important it is for a peaceful diplomatic process to be conducted on issues like this," Campbell said.
Kan, who had little experience in foreign affairs before becoming prime minister in June, has faced sharp criticism for the decision to release the captain, with some conservatives accusing him of emboldening China.
However, Kan has since stood firm against Chinese demands for an apology over the row, the worst in years between Asia's two largest economies.
The United States is a longstanding ally of Japan but had uneasy relations with Kan's predecessor Yukio Hatoyama when the two men's Democratic Party of Japan swept into office last year.
The United States has assured Tokyo that the disputed islands -- known as the Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese -- are covered under a security treaty that requires the United States to defend Japan in event of an attack.
But the United States has said it takes no position on the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan and lie close to potentially lucrative gas fields.
