Wang Yi pressed Japan to delete Taiwan remarks
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Japanese media reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted Japan remove Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary answer on a possible Taiwan contingency during talks in Beijing last month with former Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya (岩屋毅). Iwaya said he told Wang that Japan’s position on Taiwan had not changed, but withdrawing the answer would be politically very difficult. He instead proposed that the two governments formally reaffirm the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique and the other four bilateral political documents to help repair ties. The exchange came after relations worsened following Takaichi’s remarks in November last year, in what source described as the first high-level contact since then.
Key Points
- Kyodo News, cited by Japanese media, said Wang Yi demanded deletion of Takaichi’s November parliamentary answer on a “Taiwan contingency” during last month’s Beijing meeting.
- Iwaya disclosed on October 8 that he had visited Beijing in September and met both Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng.
- According to Iwaya, he proposed both governments again confirm the 1972 Joint Communique, in which Japan said it fully understood and respected China’s position on Taiwan.
- Iwaya said Japan had not changed its stance on the Taiwan issue, but retracting the parliamentary answer would face very high political difficulty.
- Wang maintained that the answer should be withdrawn and argued that Japan’s leaders should resolve the matter themselves, while Beijing accused Tokyo of undermining bilateral political foundations.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the episode shows how Taiwan-related wording in Tokyo can quickly spill into wider China-Japan relations, affecting the regional diplomatic climate. It also suggests that even attempts to stabilize ties may be constrained if both sides remain far apart on how to interpret past political commitments.