China hopes Japan friendship groups play greater role in domestic politics

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Tuesday expressed hope that groups such as the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union would “play a greater, positive role domestically” in Japan, after senior members of the cross-party group conveyed interest in sending lawmakers to China this year during an informal meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, according to Japanese media reports.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters during a news conference in Beijing that China had noted both the information and “the concerns expressed by many people of insight in Japan over the vicious impact and grave consequences caused by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan,” the state-run Global Times reported.

Kyodo News said members of the union met Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao on Monday, during which Yuko Obuchi, the group’s secretary general, and other members said they hope to visit China later this year and stressed the importance of exchanges between lawmakers from both countries to help reduce tensions.

Lin said Beijing “urges Japan to reflect on and correct its mistakes, retract Takaichi’s erroneous remarks, and stop harming the feelings of the people of the two countries,” and called on Japan to “create necessary conditions for normal exchanges between the two countries.”

Lin said that there is no foreign minister of Taiwan, responding to remarks by the island’s top diplomat that tensions between Tokyo and Beijing could last up to a year.

He said the Democratic Progressive Party ruling the island “authorities harboring sinister intentions are utterly despicable; their attempt to ‘rely on foreign forces to seek independence’ is doomed to be a dead end,” adding that Takaichi’s comments were behind the deterioration in ties.

“Current situation in China-Japan relations is entirely caused by the erroneous Taiwan-related remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi,” Lin said.

Takaichi said on Nov. 7 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could legally constitute a “survival-threatening situation,” potentially allowing Japan to “exercise the right of collective self-defense.” The remarks raised tensions between the two countries.

China criticized the comments, advised tourists not to visit Japan, suspended seafood imports, and postponed a trilateral culture ministers’ meeting with Japan and South Korea.

- Beijing, Tokyo dispute territorial incident near contested islands

China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said Tuesday that a Japanese fishing vessel was “warned and expelled after illegally entering territorial waters of China's Diaoyu Dao,” known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, Xinhua reported.

He said the disputed islets are “China's inherent territory” and urged Japan to “immediately cease all acts of infringement and provocation.”

The islands are controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

Japan’s Coast Guard said China’s Coast Guard entered Japanese territorial waters early Tuesday and left hours later, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

It said two autocannon-equipped patrol ships entered the waters and “sailed toward a Japanese fishing boat,” prompting a Japanese Coast Guard vessel to demand that they leave.

Kyodo News reported that Japan and the Philippines held informal talks on the possible export of a surface-to-air missile system as Takaichi’s government moves to further relax restrictions on defense equipment transfers.