TOKYO, 2 Apr: Japan\u2019s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised \u201cstrong concern\u201d about China\u2019s escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.
\nHayashi is making a two-day visit in China, becoming Japan\u2019s first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He was also due to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.
\nDuring his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man or the allegations against him.
\nHayashi told reporters he also raised \u201cserious concern\u201d about China\u2019s increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
\nHayashi said he told Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face \u201cmany problems and serious concerns\u201d and that \u201cJapan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.\u201d
\nThe two ministers agreed to work together in achieving \u201ca constructive and stable relationship\u201d as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.
\nThe sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, Hayashi said.
\nDespite close economic and business ties between the two Asian powers, Tokyo and Beijing have been increasingly at odds in recent years as Japan considers China\u2019s growing influence in the region a threat to its security and economy. AP
\nQin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and \u201cundermine China\u2019s sovereignty in any way,\u201d according to a statement from China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
\nUsing strong language, Qin said \u201cthe Taiwan issue is at the core of China\u2019s core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.\u201d
\nJapan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.
\nJapan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses recent years.
\nThe Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.
\nQin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.
\n\u201cThe U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japan\u2019s semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China,\u201d Qin said, urging Japan not to be America\u2019s pawn. \u201cOne should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.\u201d
\nHayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.
\nThe last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi\u2019s predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures. AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO, 2 Apr: Japan\u2019s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised \u201cstrong concern\u201d about China\u2019s escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan. Hayashi is making a two-day visit in China, becoming Japan\u2019s first diplomat to make the trip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-214132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}