Former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda has warned of a “crisis of dialogue, comprehensive understanding, and mutual trust” between Japan and China, urging leaders from the two nations to take decisive action.
“In the past three years ... mutual understanding has declined further with goodwill towards each other plummeting,” Fukuda said in a written speech at the annual Beijing-Tokyo Forum on Wednesday.
“China and Japan are in a crisis of dialogue, comprehensive understanding, and mutual trust. This crisis must be overcome.”
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Fukuda said concrete action was necessary to advance the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship between China and Japan.
The former leader’s remarks came as public sentiment between the two countries reached its lowest point in two decades. A poll by the forum released earlier this week showed that nearly 90 per cent of respondents from the two nations held negative views of each other.
Fukuda acknowledged changing global dynamics, noting that “the existence of China, which has become a world power, has had a great impact on the entire world”. He said both Japan and China had failed to adapt to this shift.
“I have noticed that neither China nor Japan has adapted well to this new reality. Relations between China and the United States are also in the same situation,” he said.
Addressing the forum virtually, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Japan not to cross “the bottom line of bilateral ties”, referring to Tokyo’s wartime history and its dealings with Taiwan.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Japan – like most countries, including the United States – does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, though it is wary of any attempt to take the self-governed island by force. Washington is committed to arming Taipei for its defence.
China’s relations with Japan have been affected by Tokyo’s growing ties with the island.
In 2021, after stepping down as leader, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that “a Taiwan contingency is a contingency for Japan”.
Abe, a right-wing political strongman, once said that stronger ties between Tokyo, Washington and Taipei would be “extremely important for the peace and stability of the region” – a sentiment that has largely been inherited by his successors, including current Japanese leader Shigeru Ishiba.
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Ishiba on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. During their meeting, Xi urged Ishiba to “face history squarely, be forward-looking, and properly handle historical, Taiwan-related, and other major issues”.
In his address on Wednesday, Wang called on both sides to follow the consensus reached during the Xi-Ishiba meeting, emphasising the importance of stabilising bilateral ties. He pointed to China’s recent resumption of visa-free travel for Japanese nationals as a gesture of goodwill.
At the forum, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya stressed the need for Beijing and Tokyo to collaborate on global challenges, including the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.
“How to make the United Nations Security Council work in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the prolonged and complex situation in the Middle East? How to rebuild global governance?” Iwaya said.
He added that serious discussions between the two nations were crucial, given their responsibilities as major global players.
Cheng Yonghua, a former Chinese ambassador to Japan, struck an optimistic tone at the forum, describing Sino-Japanese relations as entering a “positive era”. He urged the two nations to strengthen cooperation in free trade as well as industrial and supply chains.
The former diplomat added that climate cooperation had great potential for bilateral engagement between Japan and China.
Liu Hongcai, deputy head of the Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, echoed Cheng’s sentiments, calling for expanded regional and global collaboration.
Makoto Nishida, secretary general of Japan’s Komeito party, suggested that Japan share its experience of dealing with an ageing society and economic stagnation, two emerging challenges facing China.
However, he noted there were barriers in academic exchanges and mutual visits, and called for improvements in this area.
“Frankly speaking, academic exchanges and mutual visits between China and Japan are very difficult,” Nishida said, calling the situation “very disturbing”.
More from South China Morning Post:
- 90 per cent of people in China and Japan have negative views of each other, poll reveals
- China has granted visa-free entry to Japan, South Korea. What does it want in return?
- What does the US Himars deployment to southern Japan mean for China?
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