Japan complains to UN over Ban’s China military parade visit

TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo said Monday it has complained to the United Nations over Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s plan to attend a huge military parade in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.

Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga called on the UN to be ‘’neutral’’, after Tokyo issued a complaint to the 193-member body on Friday.

“We want to encourage member countries to look to the future and not to unnecessarily focus on particular events in the past,’’ Suga told a press briefing Monday.

The display planned for Thursday, a show of strength which comes as China takes a more assertive stance regionally, will see 12,000 soldiers and 500 pieces of hardware roll through Tiananmen Square, with almost 200 aircraft flying overhead.

Chinese officials listed two dozen heads of state and government as attending, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korea’s Park Geun-Hye and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma among the most prominent.

The UN’s Ban is also on the list, while Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, are staying away.

Tokyo previously said the nationalist Abe had decided to put off a visit to China around the time of the parade owing to opposition at home over his controversial bid to expand the role of Japan’s military.

But local media said the government was concerned about the antiJapanese nature of the display.