TOKYO: At her inaugural press conference on Thursday( Sept 14 ), Japan’s new foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, declared that she would continue to work with China to act responsibly and maintain dialogue to resolve shared problems.
Kamikawa, Japan’s first female foreign secretary in 20 times, was appointed on Wednesday as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
She acknowledged that there were many contentious issues that needed to be resolved and said,” We may continue to say what must be said and find China to act properly, but we will still hold discussions on issues and work with them on popular concerns.”
She added that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s attitude toward China had never changed and that” I believe we had both work to build a productive and secure marriage.”
Most recently, after Japan began releasing treated nuclear water into the Pacific Ocean from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant last month, ties between Japan and China began to deteriorate.
China was incensed by the action and, in revenge, imposed a blanket ban on Chinese seafood and watery items.