New Japan PM Takaichi May Hold 1st Meeting with China’s Xi Fri.

Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo and Beijing are working to arrange the first meeting between new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping for Friday, on the fringe of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit starting the same day in South Korea, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. Takaichi is expected to ask Xi to address issues related to security and the protection of Japanese citizens in China. She also hopes to reaffirm with the Chinese leader the continuation of dialogue between the two countries. Also on the sidelines of the APEC summit, Takaichi is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, on Thursday, for the first time since she took office Oct. 21. Takaichi is scheduled to arrive in Gyeongju, southeastern South Korea, where the APEC summit will take place, on Thursday afternoon. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, reaffirmed in phone talks Tuesday the importance of promoting the mutually beneficial strategic relationship between the two countries. In her first policy address at the Diet, Japan’s parliament, Friday, Takaichi said that there are security concerns between Japan and China, including those related to economic security, adding that Japan aims to build the mutually beneficial bilateral relationship through “continued candid dialogue” between the two countries’ leaders. At the envisioned meeting Friday, the prime minister is expected to directly convey to Xi grave concerns over China’s intimidating behavior, including around the Senkaku Islands in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa, ask for the early release of Japanese citizens detained in China and request that the safety of Japanese expatriates in the country be ensured. The Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are claimed by China, where they are known as Diaoyu. Takaichi is also expected to seek China’s resumption of imports of Japanese aquatic products. In her possible talks with Lee, Takaichi apparently hopes to reaffirm Japan-South Korea collaboration for the complete denuclearization of North Korea, based on the results of her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday and the Trump-Lee meeting on Wednesday. She aims to maintain the improving trend for the Japan-South Korea relationship set under the administrations of her two immediate predecessors–Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Some in China and South Korea are concerned that relations with Japan could deteriorate following the inauguration of Takaichi, known as a hawkish politician. Apparently in response to such views, Takaichi is taking a realistic approach, such as skipping a visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn festival earlier this month, before her inauguration as prime minister. Yasukuni Shrine is regarded as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by countries including China and South Korea, which suffered at the hands of Japanese wartime atrocities, because the Shinto shrine in Tokyo honors Class-A war criminals among the war dead. Previously, Takaichi visited the shrine on occasions such as its spring and autumn festivals and the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, including when she was in ministerial posts. In the policy address, Takaichi emphasized that Japan hopes to further strengthen its relations with South Korea, calling the country an important neighbor. At her inaugural news conference Oct. 21, Takaichi said, “I love South Korean dried seaweed, use South Korean cosmetics and watch South Korean television dramas.” At the two-day APEC summit until Saturday, Takaichi plans to call for maintaining and enhancing a free and fair economic order. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]