Public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) said the official opinion was prepared in response to a question from a lawmaker of the opposition Social Democratic Party.

Hawkish Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in December China was becoming a "considerable threat" because of its rising military spending and nuclear weapons.

NHK said the opinion prepared Tuesday says that "Japan and China agreed to establish a peaceful and friendly relationship on a permanent basis and to solve any disputes by peaceful means" in a 1972 joint statement.

"The Japanese government does not think China has an intention to invade Japan, and it does not regard China as a threat," the document reportedly says.

However, NHK reported it also says Japan "recognizes that China is moving ahead with modernization of military power" and that "China's military spending has been growing by two digits every year for 17 consecutive years."

The document calls for more transparency over military spending to allay the anxiety of neighboring countries, NHK reported.

Aso, appointed in late October, said in December that China is "a neighboring country with one billion people and nuclear bombs whose military spending has been growing by two digits every year for 17 consecutive years.

"And the content of that is extremely unclear. If I say what this means, I recognize that it is becoming a considerable threat," Aso said, triggering an angry reaction from China.

Relations were already at a low ebb over what China sees as Japan's refusal to atone for its wartime atrocities in the last century.

Related Links
-