Japan's foreign minister said Thursday he expects China to accept the offer of a summit between the country's two leaders to try to defuse their worst diplomatic row in three decades. But China was still considering whether to attend. Tensions between the two over World War II history, natural gas exploration and territorial disputes have escalated in a series of anti-Japan riots in China in recent weeks. Japan has demanded an apology, but the Chinese government has blamed Japan for the troubles. The dispute threatens to overshadow a conference of Asian and African leaders, which both Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are due to attend. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed for a peacemaking session, and some observers say a meeting between the two is urgently needed. Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said he was confident Hu and Koizumi would meet, but that no definite date had been set. "As you would imagine, the schedule for the two leaders is extremely tight," he said. "But over the course of the three days in which the two leaders will be in Jakarta, I do believe there will be a meeting between (them)." --more 1112 Local Time 0812 GMT
