Japan's main opposition party chief said Tuesday that his party will further promote Japan-China relations if it wins the Aug. 30 general election and becomes the ruling party.

Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), made the remarks at a press conference held at the DPJ headquarters.

Japan and China are close neighbors and bilateral ties are of great importance, said Hatoyama.

As Japan-China relations make headway, the two nations need to deepen bilateral "strategic and mutually beneficial relations" and clearly define their contents, he said.

On the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine, Hatoyama said that if he takes the premiership, he will not visit the war-related shrine and demand cabinet ministers to show self-discipline concerning the issue.

With regards to the East China Sea issue, the party chief said that leaders of the two countries should first foster a relationship of mutual trust.

Though the two sides adopt different stances, joint exploration of the East China Sea is of great significance as a step in the process of reconciliation, he said.

On safety and security policies, Hatoyama said that the DPJ will not change the policy of "defense limited to its own territory and coastal waters," nor does it intend to sharply increase the budget for defense.

Concerning Japan's three principles of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its soil, Hatoyama said that it is the DPJ's stand that Japan will never possess nuclear weapons. And Japan will not develop nuclear weapons under a DPJ government.

A general election of Japan's House of Representatives is scheduled for Aug. 30. Latest opinion polls showed that the opposition DPJ has a clear lead over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is likely to win the election and come into power.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)