Noda Calls for China Talks as Island Spat Threatens Growth

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called for talks to contain economic damage from a diplomatic dispute with China as Japan’s largest trading partner downgraded its delegation to an annual gathering in Tokyo.

“These are the second and third largest economies in the world and our interdependence is deepening,” Noda, 55, said yesterday in an interview at his office in Tokyo. “If our ties cool, particularly economic ones, then it isn’t a question of one or the other country suffering. Both countries lose out.”