Japan Wants to Work Closely with China to Develop Bilateral Relations

By Yujiro Okabe / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

19:29 JST, November 25, 2023

BUSAN, South Korea — Japan intends to work closely with China to develop bilateral ties in line with the promotion of strategic, mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday.

“We’d like to work closely to develop Japan-China relations in line with the direction indicated by the leaders of both Japan and China,” Kamikawa said at the start of the meeting.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in San Francisco on Nov. 16.

In response, Wang said: “Common understanding between the two leaders is an important policy guideline. We’ll push forward to ensure that China-Japan relations develop on a sound and correct course.”

Kamikawa was set to urge China to lift its import ban on Japanese marine products during the session.

Meeting on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea scheduled for Sunday, the two ministers were expected to agree to continue to hold talks aimed resolving the issue.

She will likely urge Wang to consider the scientific evidence relating to the ocean discharge of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Japan and China have remained divided in light of Beijing’s reference to the treated aqua as “nuclear-contaminated water.”

However, during the summit talks in the United States, the two nations agreed to seek ways to resolve the issue through dialogue.

The Japanese government hopes to move proceedings forward by spurring scientific discussions among experts.

Kamikawa also reportedly intended to press for the early release of Japanese nationals detained by Chinese authorities and the immediate removal of a Chinese buoy placed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

She also was expected to convey her serious concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear and missile development program, and urge China to play a role in resolving the matter.