BEIJING:  , Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya on Wednesday ( Dec 25 ) raised” serious concerns” over China’s military buildup as he met counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Tokyo said.
Iwaya told Wang on his first trip to China since taking over as Japan’s leading diplomat earlier this year that Tokyo was” carefully monitoring the Taiwan scenario and subsequent military developments,” according to his international ministry.
Meeting with Wang at Beijing’s opulent Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, he also “expressed serious concerns over the East China Sea situation, including around the Senkaku Islands ( and ) China’s increasing military activity”, Tokyo said.
Iwaya in contrast called for the” sharp release” of Japanese citizens detained by Chinese regulators.
He warned that the anti-espionage law’s controversial nature is making Chinese people reconsider visiting China.
However, the two officials also agreed to work together to schedule Wang’s “visit to Japan” as soon as possible next month.
Earlier, Iwaya met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and agreed to work for a” creative and secure” relationship, Chinese media company Kyodo said.
Although China and Japan are important buying partners, strained relations between them have gotten worse over disputed territory and increased military spending.
Beijing’s more forceful appearance around disputed territories in the region, however, has sparked Tokyo’s indignation, leading it to increase security ties with vital ally the United States and other countries.
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A Chinese government plane staged the first confirmed invasion by China into Japanese airspace in August, followed weeks afterwards by a Chinese ship sailing through the Taiwan Strait for the first time.
Tokyo, which claimed the intercontinental ballistic missile had not been given advance notice, also voiced strong protests against Beijing’s unique test build of an intercontinental ballistic weapon into the Pacific Ocean in late September.
Tensions between the two countries also erupted last year as a result of Japan’s decision to begin releasing some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools ‘ worth of reactor cooling water into the Pacific Ocean, which the UN atomic agency deemed safe.
China branded the shift” arrogant” and banned all Chinese seafood goods, but in September said it would “gradually profile” the business.
On Wednesday, the two officials affirmed their help for that program.
According to customs data, China imported shellfish from Japan worth more than US$ 500 million in 2022.
Another sore place is Japan’s terrible employment of some of China before and during World War II, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to forgive for its history.
Beijing frequently resents visits by Chinese officials to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors war dying, including those who have been convicted of war crimes.