ISLAMABAD: Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya was due in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with counterpart Wang Yi and other top officials as Tokyo admitted “challenges and concerns” in ties.
The visit is Iwaya’s first to China since becoming Japan’s top diplomat earlier this year.
China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over disputed territories and military spending has frayed relations in recent years.
Fukushima nuclear disaster
Tensions also flared last year over Japan’s decision to begin releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of reactor cooling water amassed since the tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster — an operation the UN atomic agency deemed safe, according to AFP.
Beijing branded the move “selfish” and banned all Japanese seafood imports, but in September said it would “gradually resume” the trade.
China imported over $500 million worth of seafood from Japan in 2022, according to customs data.
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Iwaya told media persons in Tokyo on Tuesday that “China represents one of the most important bilateral relationships for us.”
“Between China and Japan, there are various possibilities but also multiple challenges and concerns,” he added.
A constructive China-Japan relationship
“Both nations possess the heavy responsibilities for the peace and stability of our region and the world,” he said.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing sought to “strengthen dialogue and communication” in order to “properly manage differences” with Japan.
Beijing will “strive to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said. — with input from AFP
