Japan-China Relations
Japan-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting
September 23, 2024
On September 23 commencing at 2:30 p.m (3:30 a.m. JST on September 24) for approximately 55 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting New York in the United States of America to attend the United Nations General Assembly, held a Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- In relation to the incident in which a Japanese school student was attacked and later passed away in Shenzhen, China, Minister Kamikawa strongly urged the Chinese side to clarify the truth and provide a clear explanation to the Japanese side as soon as possible, including the motive of the assailant as well as to ensure his severe punishment. In addition, Minister Kamikawa strongly urged the Chinese side to take concrete measures to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals residing in China, especially that of children, and to take thorough and immediate actions against unfounded, malicious and anti-Japanese social media posts, including those related to Japanese schools, stating that such posts are directly linked to the safety of children and are totally unacceptable.
Furthermore, Minister Kamikawa called for the Chinese side to squarely face the obstacles to exchanges that should be pursued between the neighbouring countries, Japan and China, and to work earnestly to improve the situation.
In response, Foreign Minister Wang expressed that China’s position has been as stated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, and that what has happened is an isolated and individual case that we would not like to see happen, and that it will be dealt with in accordance with the Chinese law.
In addition, based on the in-depth discussions between State Minister TSUGE Yoshifumi, who was visiting Beijing after being instructed by Minister Kamikawa and the Chinse side, Minister Kamikawa proposed to swiftly implement specific measures, making use of various channels such as the consultation between consular authorities, in order to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals residing in China, especially children, and the two sides concurred in continuing to discuss this issue through diplomatic channel. - Regarding the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea and China’s import restrictions on Japanese aquatic products, Minister Kamikawa reiterated Japan’s consistent approach based on scientific evidence. Further, based on the shared recognition between Japan and China that was announced on September 20, Minister Kamikawa also stated Japan’s intention to carry out the additional monitoring as soon as possible and ensure tangible progress towards the elimination of the restrictions,.
- In addition, Minister Kamikawa reiterated Japan’s serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea including the buoy, recent Chinese military activities near Japan such as the cases of the intrusion of a Chinese military aircraft into Japan’s territorial airspace in August and the navigation of an aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy around Japanese territorial waters, and the incident of the detention of a Japanese national in China. In this context, she again urged the Chinese side to promptly provide a concrete and clear explanation regarding the case of the intrusion of a Chinese military aircraft into Japan’s territorial airspace.