Fukuda, Chinese leaders to reaffirm cooperation over dumpling cases

TOKYO, Aug. 6 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese leaders are expected to agree to step up their cooperation in investigating the unresolved cases of food poisoning caused by tainted dumplings imported from China during their meeting
on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Wednesday.
The remarks came after the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the same day that China has also experienced cases of pesticide-induced food poisoning traced to dumplings made in China that caused the same problem in Japan.
Japan and Chinese leaders ''are likely to agree on the need to get to the bottom of the incident as soon as possible and will seek to further step up the cooperation between Japan and China,'' Japan's top government spokesman told a regular press conference.
Fukuda will visit China to attend Friday's Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony and hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao the same day.
A total of 10 people from three families in Japan fell ill between December 2007 and January this year after eating pesticide-tainted frozen dumplings made in China.
The two nations have agreed on the need to cooperate to account for the issue, but remained far apart on the results of investigations.