THE Japanese government intends to continue calling on China to hold dialogue aimed at stability in the Japan-China relationship, while still not accepting Beijing’s demand that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rescind her remark during a recent Diet deliberation about the possibility of a “survival-threatening” situation for Japan.
In response to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s call for Chinese nationals to refrain from traveling to Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stressed that “we will continue watching developments closely and making the appropriate response”.
“Multi-layered communications are important precisely because of our different stances,” Kihara said, suggesting that the government will persistently hold dialogue with the Chinese side.
To ease the situation, the government will consider dispatching Keiichi Ichikawa, secretary general of national security in the Cabinet Secretariat, to China sometime soon.
“We should view this calmly,” said Takayuki Kobayashi, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council chairperson, during his visit to Akita Prefecture on Saturday,
Kobayashi called for de-escalating the situation, saying, “We’ll keep striving for continued dialogue and making this important relationship constructive and stable.”
Opposition parties have also called for a calm response.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said, “China has reacted too excessively,” while Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said, “It is important for both sides to maintain communications so that the situation will not escalate.”
Takaichi is supported by conservative voters. According to one of her aides, she believes that if she retracts her remark in the Diet about a contingency in Taiwan, her supporters will not accept it. It is also possible that China may step up its demands if she backs down.
The government intends to search for a breakthrough that both Japan and China can accept, without easily making concessions.
It is also determined to be resolute regarding Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian’s post on X in connection with Takaichi’s remark. Xue wrote in the post, “There would be no choice but to cut off that filthy head without a moment’s hesitation.” Japan’s government intends to handle his comment separately from the argument over Takaichi’s remark.
Some in the government are calling for designating the consul general as a persona non grata. Governments of host countries can refuse to host a diplomat who has been so designated.
However, it is feared that taking such a step would prompt the Chinese side to take an even harder line and the bilateral relationship could become decisively worse.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office said that the government is aiming for a “soft landing” that will not complicate the issue further, while continuing to demand that China respond appropriately.
