Japan PM Takaichi plans to attend Shenzhen APEC
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) said on November 9 that she intends to attend the ASEAN leaders’ meeting in Manila and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen, according to remarks relayed at a senior Liberal Democratic Party meeting. Both reports said the travel plan still needs parliamentary approval before it can go ahead. The ASEAN summit is scheduled for November 15 to 17 in the Philippine capital, while the Shenzhen APEC meeting is set for November 16 to 20. Attention is also on whether the Shenzhen trip could create room for high-level China-Japan contact, although no meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was confirmed in the reports.
Key Points
- LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki told reporters after a senior party meeting that Takaichi said she would attend both the ASEAN summit and the Shenzhen APEC meeting
- The ASEAN leaders’ meeting is due to take place in Manila from November 15 to 17, overlapping with the APEC schedule in Shenzhen from November 16 to 20
- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in late October that arrangements were being coordinated for Takaichi to attend APEC in Shenzhen
- Motegi did not say whether Takaichi would meet Xi, but said Japan must take seriously the history embodied in four bilateral political documents, including the Japan-China Joint Statement
- CRHK said Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan in a parliamentary reply on November 7 last year sharply worsened China-Japan ties, and it said many in Japan doubt a Xi-Takaichi meeting will happen in Shenzhen
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the Shenzhen venue puts a major regional diplomatic event directly across the border, making any shift in China-Japan engagement especially relevant to the Greater Bay Area’s political and business climate. The fact that Takaichi’s attendance still depends on parliamentary approval also means the trip remains politically sensitive, with implications for how much practical progress can be expected from any contact on the sidelines.