Japan protest over call for emperor's apology

TOKYO • Tokyo said yesterday it has lodged a formal protest with Beijing after China's state news agency Xinhua called on Japanese Emperor Akihito to apologise for his country's past military aggression.

Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the commentary published on Tuesday was " seriously discourteous to his imperial majesty, and not in line with China's official position".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

45 jailed in China's restive Xinjiang region

HONG KONG • Courts across Xinjiang in western China have sentenced 45 people to prison in recent days for supporting organisations accused of terror attacks or of helping others flee abroad, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

The report did not describe the ethnicity of the defendants but their names indicated they were Uighurs, the Turkic minority.The government has described recent attacks by Uighurs as terrorism but human rights groups have said the violence is often primitive and driven by despair.

NEW YORK TIMES