A growing number of voices from across Japanese political and academic circles have sharply criticized recent comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, warning that her statements could jeopardize regional stability and damage Japan's own interests.
Takaichi has said that the Chinese central government's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of Japan's armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait. Despite multiple representations from China, the Japanese government has refused to retract the remarks.
Ozawa Ichiro, a lawmaker from the Constitutional Democratic Party -- the largest opposition party -- said Takaichi's aggressive rhetoric could trigger a series of negative consequences, including deterioration of China-Japan relations, worsening public sentiment, reduced bilateral trade, and restrictions on people-to-people exchanges.
Tanaka Hitoshi, former deputy minister for foreign affairs, cautioned that matters such as Japan's involvement in the Taiwan Strait situation or revising the country's "three non-nuclear principles" are issues tied to the nation's survival and must not be spoken of lightly. He warned that if Takaichi continues with such reckless behavior, Japan could be led into an irreparable crisis.
"All Japanese experts I know, especially those who understand Japan-China relations well, believe that Takaichi's remarks this time have very serious problems. Takaichi should immediately retract her erroneous comments," said Takamura Noriyuki, vice president of Japan-China Relations Society.
Recalling the 1972 normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, Takamura stressed the importance of honoring the commitments set out by then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
"It is clearly written that Japan acknowledges 'one China.' 'One China' refers to the Government of the People's Republic of China -- this was explicitly agreed in the document. As for Taiwan, the document states that Taiwan is an inseparable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China -- this is China's position, and the Japanese government respects it. It is clearly recorded in the document on the normalization of China-Japan relations. Therefore, this is the most fundamental basis of Japan-China relations. It is extremely important for both sides to abide by and uphold this foundation," he said.
Japanese public figures criticize Takaichi's remarks as harmful to regional stability
Japanese public figures criticize Takaichi's remarks as harmful to regional stability
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that both China and the Netherlands being committed to promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in an open and pragmatic spirit is in line with the shared interests of the two sides.
This is also conducive to the sound development of China-European Union (EU) relations as well as the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, he said.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendson at the latter's request.
Wang congratulated Berendson on his assuming office as the Netherlands' new foreign minister and said that China and the Netherlands are important partners of cooperation to each other.
China appreciates the positive signal released by the new Dutch government of valuing its relations with China, he said, noting that China's foreign policy maintains coherence and stability, and that China is willing to work with the Netherlands to strengthen exchanges and communication, promote mutual understanding and trust, and consistently deepen their open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation.
Wang briefed his Dutch counterpart on the outcomes of China's just concluded "two sessions," noting that China will remain committed to opening wider to the outside world and expanding institutional opening-up, bringing more opportunities to countries around the world, including the Netherlands.
China-Netherlands economic and trade cooperation enjoys mutual complementarity of advantages, mutual benefit and win-win results, Wang noted.
He expressed hope that the new government of the Netherlands will take on a new look and new challenges, adhere to independence and self-autonomy, and support the normal economic and trade exchanges between enterprises of the two countries.
It is hoped that the Dutch side would push EU institutions to understand China in an objective and rational manner, and adhere to the positioning of partnership and open cooperation between China and the EU, Wang said.
For his part, Berendson said the new government of the Netherlands speaks highly of the achievements China has made in its rapid development, and regards the relations with China as one of its most important bilateral relationships.
Berendson said his country is willing to keep high-level exchanges with China, leverage bilateral mechanisms such as the political consultation between foreign ministries and the mixed economic and trade committee, increase dialogue and exchanges at all levels, deepen the pragmatic cooperation in climate change, water resource management and other areas, and jointly defend multilateralism, consistently advancing the bilateral open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation to new levels.
The Dutch side is willing to play a constructive role for the sound and steady development of EU-China relations, he said.
The two sides also exchanged views on issues including the Ukraine crisis.
China-Netherlands mutually beneficial cooperation in line with common interests: Chinese FM
