Press Releases
Meeting between State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsuge and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong of the People’s Republic of China
September 23, 2024
On September 23rd, commencing at 10:10 a.m. (local time, 9:10 a.m. JST) for approximately 80 minutes, Mr. TSUGE Yoshifumi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is visiting the People’s Republic of China, held a meeting with Sun Weidong, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- At the outset , State Minister Tsuge stated that Japan takes very seriously the incident, in which a Japanese school student was attacked by a man in Shenzhen, China on September 18 and later passed away, and that he visited China to discuss specifically this incident and remedial measures with Vice Minister Sun as instructed by Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko.
- State Minister Tsuge strongly urged the Chinese side to clarify the truth and provide a clear explanation as soon as possible, including the motive of the incident as well as to take concrete measures to ensure the safety of the Japanese nationals residing in China, especially that of children. In addition, from the viewpoint of preventing a recurrence of such an incident, he also called for thorough and immediate actions to be taken against unfounded, malicious, and anti-Japanese social media posts, including those related to Japanese schools.
- In response, Vice Minister Sun reiterated his regret and sorrow, stating that China will render necessary assistance to the bereaved family and will protect the safety of foreigners residing in China, including Japanese nationals. In addition, he mentioned that children should be protected as a priority in all countries, stating that he was appalled by this incident, and said that China will firmly oppose to and exercise controls on any form of violence. Furthermore, Vice Minister Sun explained the situation of the Chinese response at the site on the day of the incident.
- In addition, in order to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China and prevent recurrences, State Minister Tsuge emphasized the need for Japan and China to cooperate to concretize and implement the strengthening of measures including the following efforts, which is related to Japanese schools and require special reponse.
(1) Exchange of information on ensuring security between Japanese diplomatic establishments and security authorities in each region where Japanese schools are located
(2) Implementation of safety measures adapted to the different means of commuting
(3) Strengthening of coordination regarding initial responses to emergencies - Based on today’s discussion, the two sides shared the view to maintain communication between the diplomatic authorities of both countries.
- State Minister Tsuge also raised issues such as the situation in the East China Sea, Chinese military activities surrounding Japan, and the incidents of the detention of Japanese nationals, and called on China to respond to these issues.