Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Saturday that he agreed with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi to promote "mutually beneficial and practical" cooperation in areas such as decarbonization and addressing low birthrates.
After talks with Wang in Tokyo, Iwaya told reporters that he conveyed concerns over intensifying Chinese military activities and other provocative moves while voicing Japan's eagerness to host a trilateral summit involving South Korea "by the year-end."
Iwaya also reiterated his nation's request for China to lift its blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed after the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
Among other demands Iwaya made were the removal of a buoy installed by Beijing within Japan's exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa and the early release of Japanese nationals detained by Chinese authorities on espionage allegations.
China's anti-espionage law has been "hurting Japanese firms' business" in the neighboring country, Iwaya was quoted by the Foreign Ministry as saying.
The two ministers, meanwhile, affirmed that their governments will hold a senior official-level security dialogue at the earliest possible date to "deepen communication" in the field, Japanese officials said.
The two ministers cochaired the first high-level Japan-China economic dialogue in six years, following a hiatus mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after earlier holding separate talks on the broader bilateral relationship.
The meetings took place with the Asian neighbors exploring ways to stabilize their strained ties, but no major progress was made toward resolving their differences.
It was the first visit to Japan by a Chinese foreign minister since November 2020, when Wang made a trip to meet with Japanese political leaders amid the pandemic.
At the outset of the economic talks, Iwaya said he expects the meeting to "embody" the cooperation between the two countries, pledging to make efforts so that Japanese and Chinese citizens can "feel the benefits" of progress in bilateral relations.
Wang appeared to criticize recent policies of the United States, Japan's close ally, saying, "Unilateralism and protectionism are rampant," in a veiled reference to President Donald Trump's "America First" doctrine and his tariffs.
The two governments agreed in September to gradually resume China's imports of Japanese marine products, contingent upon Beijing's participation in monitoring activities under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The ban was introduced in August 2023, when the water discharge from the nuclear plant into the Pacific began despite strong opposition from China, which cited possible negative impacts on human health and the environment.
Iwaya did not elaborate on the details of Saturday's discussion on the topic. Aside from seafood, he said he asked Wang to resume beef imports and expand rice purchases.
Following the previous high-level economic dialogue in April 2019, Japan and China signed a quarantine pact in November of that year, seen as a key step toward the lifting of Beijing's ban on Japanese beef imports in place since 2001. But talks on the issue have not made substantial progress since, partly due to the pandemic.
Japan has also expressed fears about the safety of its citizens in China. In September, a Japanese schoolboy was fatally stabbed by a Chinese man in Shenzhen.
On the security front, bilateral tensions have been sparked by repeated intrusions by Chinese vessels into Japanese waters around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.
© KYODO
31 Comments
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voiceofokinawa
It seems that the issues touched on by Iwaya during the after-event news conference should have been the main topics of the bilateral meeting.
deanzaZZR
Keep the positive momentum moving forward. The world is on edge because of the Trumpster and more broadly the political direction the USA is moving in. Best to pursue all alternative options.
dbsaiya
Good start, keep it going and don't let Fox News Hegseth try to throw a wrench into it.
Meiyouwenti
As usual, when the US-China relationship sours, China smiles at Japan.
theFu
I won't pretend to tell Japan what they should do with their largest and closest trading partner, but China is moving to a war footing, so every yen sent there will be turned into war purposes. That can be bullets, missiles, propaganda, and expect to have a blockade once China finally decides to start shooting.
Of course, they will try to ignore Japan when they try to take Taiwan, but there are defense agreements that must be honored. China will misstep and act surprised when their "re-joining" attempt turns into a shooting war, but that's what will happen. I'm a little surprised that Philippines hasn't started a limited shooting war with China over the Chinese interference with Philippines islands and being inside their EEZ. Best to do it now with a few hundred people and not later when it becomes 10,000 people.
quercetum
Great news. Next unite the two Koreas.
TaiwanIsNotChina
We have some MAGAs in the US with your childlike sense of optimism.
OssanAmerica
Of course not. We're dealing with China.
WiseOneIn Kansai
The meeting was a total waste of time.
China never commits to any agreement, just foot dragging as usual.
And. .
And. . .
Also. . . .
Obviously, China doesn't understand the meaning of "mutually beneficial and practical" cooperation. It only takes action to benefit itself, hence it lacks the international respect that it desperately wants.
Fighto!
You really think the criminal Kim absolute monarchy are going to give up their complete power, and allow democracy ie the people actually vote for who governs them? What would be in it for them - apart from criminal charges and life imprisonment?
oldman_13
Like a broken record...
Unless the Chinese government stops indoctrinating their citizens in anti-Japanese fervor, nothing will ever change. There's videos of Chinese citizens stepping on images of Japanese flags at entrances to buildings.
deanzaZZR
Meanwhile Musk was almost shown the USA war plan against China. Funny that.
Nibek32
And so it begins, America’s allies abandoning America and building new allies, sans America.
HopeSpringsEternal
Practical economic cooperation always a positive to help maintain the Peace. Even better if other areas of cooperation can occur to address important global issues, while maintaining Japan's national security.
1glenn
Mutually beneficial cooperation would seem to be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, China under Xi has shown that its definition of mutually beneficial is awkwardly lopsided, to China's benefit, and to the detriment of everyone else. Still, go into the meetings with your eyes open, and maybe something MUTUALLY beneficial can indeed be accomplished.
TokyoLiving
Warmongering US hate this great news..
TaiwanIsNotChina
And if you believe that is actually happening, I have a bridge to sell you.
DeeZee
China has always been about peace and mutual co-operation. Now that Trump is withdrawing from the world the interference will lessen. Trump's foreign policy isn't all that bad. He realises that American cannot come between other states.
Peter14
Yeah all sounds nice in theory, but not tackling the "flash point" Senkaku issue with continuous Chinese incursions into Japanese territory continuing, harassment of Japanese fishermen in Japanese waters, everything they say they are going to do is window dressing.
Time to tackle the hard issues if you want to find true progress in the relationship. Because otherwise it will be the bigger issues that derail all the nice and small ones like these you try to get off the ground.
Its not something to let fester, of wait for future generations to work out. Get it done now and everything else becomes so much easier.
John-San
At lease China isn't pushing protectionism and fascism. Dump the USA dollar. sell of USA bonds.
Peter14
But China does regularly invade other nations territory and harass those sailing or flying through international zones. Nobody else appears to be doing that, only china does it.
stormcrow
Japan has to trade with somebody and as long as the Greedy Baby is in the White House, Japan has to play the hand they’ve been dealt.
Peter14
Be cautious of deceitful neighbors and take the opportunity created by Trump to build trade links with disaffected nations further abroad.
Canada has much it could offer Japan, just as Australia has. Build more links with Western Europe while they are open to such ideas thanks to America's implosion and self destructive policies.
WA4TKG
At least they haven’t lost their sense of humor
Fos
History lessons straight from the US military dispatches. Amusing :)
Historical facts form real print books:
China has not been engaged in military activity for the past forty years. In that time, the US has overthrown numerous governments and illegally invaded many countries.
Since 1945 the US past administrations have tried to overthrow more than 50 governments, many of them democratically elected; grossly interfered in elections in 30 countries; bombed the civilian populations of 30 countries; used chemical and biological weapons; and attempted to assassinate foreign leaders.
Of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, who represent the great powers, only China has not fought a war in 40 years. In contrast to China, in the last three decades, America has fought a war or been involved in military actions every year.
Defining China a “threat” is historically incorrect, unless you follow the narrative of the usual suspects that define the alleged skirmished with Filipinos fishermen a danger to a sovereign nation.
deanzaZZR
USA and Aussie soldiers, sailors, marines (and supporting staff) are always chirping away at how bad China is. It's almost like they are tied to the tete of the Global Military Industrial Complex (GMIC). Funny, that.
TaiwanIsNotChina
A carefully selected date as always.
The damaged ships, unaltered video, and wounded coastguardspeople clearly show the Chinese assaults are not CG.
deanzaZZR
Role it back several decades if you like and on the USA ledger you will find USA multiple USA sponsored wars and coups while on the Chinese side you have Chinese People Volunteer Army supporting their Vietnamese cousins to oppose USA imperialism. Several thousand Chinese PVA were killed in action while providing anti-aircraft and engineering duties.
1979 was no invasion. Even before the China's PLA crossed the Vietnam border it was announced that it would be a punitive attack in support of the Cambodia regime and punishment for the Vietnamese army invasion of Cambodia
I understand the confusion for those whose historical knowledge is limited to USA high school history textbooks.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Countries that weren't poor in the Cold War had ideologies to fight. Largely successful by the US, thankfully.
And then invading Vietnam themselves to try to make them a colony.
Sure keep telling yourself that.
A Special Military Operation? Hilarious stuff.
deanzaZZR
Pro USA military interventionists may well reflect on the harm that was done across SE Asia in the 1960s and 1970s including the arming of rebels, drug smuggling and mass carpet bombing and mining of poor little Cambodia.
It was one more example of a USA foreign military operation going horribly wrong for the Americans and the USA military flying and sailing away across an ocean in defeat to leave the locals to deal with the rubble left in its wake. What a legacy.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Nothing could have been worse for SE Asia than the PRC backing of the worst genocider in history: Pol Pot.
There was every expectation that South Vietnam could have been rescued from savagery like South Korea.