Former Japanese diplomat urges PM to retract erroneous remarks

Japanese scholar and former diplomat Kazuhiko Togo stated that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi should immediately retract her recent erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region, adding that restoring credibility would require greater diplomatic effort from the Japanese government.

Takaichi recently made a series of erroneous remarks, constituting gross interference in China's internal affairs, in a bid to lift all post-World War II restraints on Japan's military by hyping up a so-called "external threat".

At a Diet meeting on Nov. 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, which has immediately drawn strong criticism at home and abroad.

Despite multiple representations from China, the Japanese side has refused to retract the remarks.

In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Togo, former director-general of Treaties Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that Takaichi's remarks irresponsibly crossed a clear diplomatic line.

"Takaichi's remarks concern China's 'core among core interests'. It is an extremely sensitive issue. Therefore, previously, Japanese government would say, 'We will make judgments based on the overall situation,' and responses could not go beyond this scope. But she made remarks beyond this scope. Such words must not be said. She crossed that line. She failed to understand that China must not be provoked," he said.

Togo pointed out that the 1972 China-Japan Joint Communique clearly documents the consistent position of the Japanese government, which is that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Takaichi's remarks run counter to this longstanding position of the Japanese government.

"The Japanese government's basic position on the Taiwan question is written in the 1972 China-Japan Joint Communique. Particularly Item Three, which states 'The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article Eight of the Potsdam Proclamation.' This is the Japanese government's position on the Taiwan question. I think her so-called 'consistent position' is completely mistaken. Her stance is simply inconsistent. It is inconsistent with the previous position of the Japanese government. The best course of action is to retract the remarks. From the perspective of diplomatic relations, it should be retracted," said Togo.

Togo further emphasized that building stable relations with China requires sincere diplomatic effort and the accumulation of trust.

"Establishing a stable and mutually trusting relationship between Japan and China is beneficial for both sides. To achieve this, diplomatic effort is required. The role of diplomacy is to use words to explain to the other side, to accumulate trust, to make the other side believe you are not lying. This is very important," Togo highlighted.

Former Japanese diplomat urges PM to retract erroneous remarks

Officials and business leaders from both China and the United States gathered in Berkeley, California on Friday to discuss the future of trade and investment between China and the San Francisco Bay Area, with many hoping to overcome the recent strain brought by the Trump administration's tariffs.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade hosted a business breakfast exchange meeting on Friday morning, with the council's chairman Ren Hongbin sending out a clear message of the vast economic potential which is there to be tapped into.

"The Chinese economy is very much innovation driven. And the strategic emerging industries, such as new energy, new materials, low carbon, aerospace, bio-pharmacy and the low-altitude economy, will generate a trillion-yuan level or even larger markets. So, I think that will provide enormous opportunities and room for China and U.S. companies to cooperate," said Ren.

He further stressed the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing as an example of an event where San Francisco Bay Area companies like NVIDIA and Apple were active participants and direct beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Zhang Jianmin said that against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown, greater cooperation in the innovation sector is now more important than ever.

"The [San Francisco] Bay Area is home to many of the world's top tech companies and offers a sound innovation ecosystem. China has a super big market, rich application scenarios and a complete industrial supporting system. There exists tremendous potential for both sides to have more mutually beneficial cooperation by tapping into their complementary strengths," said Zhang.

Attendees did voice concerns over how the Trump administration's tariffs are impacting business.

With China accounting for nearly 30 percent of the Port of Oakland's total trade volume, the port's executive director Kristi McKenney stressed the need for greater stability and certainty.

"The tariffs in many cases were never actually implemented or were changed before they were implemented. So those linkages are a bit more challenging. I think the bigger issue will be certainty in the economy. And if there's lack of certainty, if we see economic difficulty, then you're going to see job losses," said McKenney.

Oakland's Mayor Barbara Lee said that it is very much business as usual, despite the recent difficulties.

"While we understand the challenges of tariffs, the exports and imports are still continuing, and our port is still a large containerized port doing business with China. And we're going to strengthen that relationship. We may have our differences on issues, on policies, but we here in Oakland understand that we're a global city and we believe the trade brings friendships, brings understanding, and also brings economic benefits to both countries," she said.

Chinese, US officials, business leaders meet in California to deepen mutual understanding