China expresses deep condolences over passing of former Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda: spokesman

China

China expresses deep condolences over passing of former Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda: spokesman

2026-10-26 17:29 Last Updated At：22:40

China expresses deep condolences over the passing of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and offers its sincere sympathies to his family, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday.

Yasuo Fukuda died of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on Oct 22 at the age of 90, local media reported Monday.

"We express deep condolences and grief over former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's passing and heartfelt sympathies to his family. Mr. Yasuo Fukuda is an old friend of the Chinese people, who actively contributed to the improvement and development of China-Japan relations. He has long been committed to the friendship between our two countries, and held a correct view of history. During his tenure as prime minister, China and Japan signed the fourth political document. After leaving office, he visited the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre. What's more, he served for many years as Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, playing an important role in facilitating exchanges and cooperation in Asia," Guo said.

"Mr. Yasuo Fukuda once noted that the four political documents between China and Japan stipulated the principles governing bilateral relations, which we must bear in mind and never deviate from. Those firm and important remarks reflected the honor and responsibility of Japan's statesman of the older generation and should evoke self-reflection and soul-searching among those currently running the Japanese government," he continued.

Yasuo Fukuda was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 and served as chief cabinet secretary in the cabinets of Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi.

Fukuda became prime minister in September 2007 and resigned in September 2008.

During his tenure as prime minister, Fukuda worked to improve and develop China-Japan relations. In 2008, the two countries issued the China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit.

After retiring from politics in 2012, Fukuda remained a committed advocate of China-Japan friendship and visited China many times.

Kenya to remain vigilant in Ebola response: WHO official

Kenya must maintain high vigilance and continue strengthening disease surveillance and control measures, as the country reaches a critical phase in its response to the current Ebola outbreak, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday.

Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, acting WHO representative to Kenya, commended on the Kenyan government's prompt response following the detection of the first imported case, which involved rapid contact tracing and isolation.

According to Kenya's Ministry of Health, the country has reported nine confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, including two deaths. All subsequent confirmed cases were identified while under isolation and are currently receiving treatment, with no evidence of community transmission.

Just before the first batch of close contacts completed their 21-day medical observation without symptoms and began leaving quarantine starting Sunday, Kimambo noted that releasing contacts from observation does not signal the end of the outbreak.

"So for WHO criteria, we look at those 21 days. But we still have people who are sick, right? So until you come to the last patient being treated and is now Ebola-free, then we count up to 42 days to officially say this is over. So we still have a while to go for that," she said.

The official also highlighted the broader regional concern, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where new cases continue to rise rapidly and cross-border human mobility increases the difficulty of epidemic control.

"They're currently now getting around an average of 70 something new cases every day. You can imagine if the case in Kenya, just one case, we had over 100 contacts. So imagine 70 new cases every day. How many contacts?" she said.

To address these challenges, the WHO is assisting relevant countries in sharing information and coordinating responses through national contact mechanisms and country offices, Kimambo added.