Tokyo has protested and sought the partial removal of a statement made by China describing a discussion held between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅), a Japanese government spokesperson said.
Wang was in Japan over the weekend for economic talks, during which he paid a courtesy visit to Ishiba.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Ishiba had told Wang that “Japan respects the positions elaborated by the Chinese side” — a statement that Ishiba had never made, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Chinese statement does not specify the positions that Ishiba allegedly respects, but notes that Wang said Japan should “earnestly fulfill important political commitments on historical issues and the Taiwan question” among other requests, such as adhering to four documents that underpin Japan-China diplomacy and safeguarding the legal foundation of their relationship.
Japan’s protests come amid increased tensions in the region as nations brace for the impact of additional tariffs from US President Donald Trump’s administration, and likely further conflicts between the US and China.
Japan is often caught between its security alliance with the US and China being its largest trading partner.
How Taiwan should be treated has continued to be a key issue of contention between Japan and China.
“We have lodged a protest and requested the immediate removal of the wording that is not factually accurate,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference yesterday.
“It is unfortunate that China released a statement that was not factual,” he said.
He declined to comment on how China had responded to the complaint.
Hayashi made the comments days after news of Taiwan naming Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of staff of the joint staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as a Cabinet consultant renewed focus on Japan’s and China’s differing positions on Taiwan.
Japan has close ties with Taiwan and adamantly opposes changes to the “status quo” concerning the self-governing nation, but China has ambitions to bring Taiwan under its control and has not ruled out the possibility of using force to do so.
Wang on Saturday met with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya for bilateral talks concerning issues of contention between the two Asian giants.
Iwaya urged the peaceful resolution of relations between Taiwan and China, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempts to change the “status quo” by coercion during the talks with Wang, according to a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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