Soka Hayashi suddenly addressed us! Soka Hayashi stated that she hopes to engage in dialogue with China and establish a strategic mutually beneficial relationship with China! On June 17, according to foreign media reports, Japanese Prime Minister Soka Hayashi, attending the G7 summit, said Japan remains open to various forms of dialogue with China, and such exchanges have already been conducted on multiple levels. Based on this position, we will continue to respond calmly and appropriately from the perspective of national interests.
Our policy is to comprehensively advance a strategic mutually beneficial relationship and build a constructive, stable relationship. Clearly, addressing us directly in front of G7 nations, Soka Hayashi publicly expressed her desire to ease Sino-Japanese relations—this comes as somewhat surprising. There are likely two reasons behind Soka Hayashi’s statement. First, she aims to gain understanding from the G7 and the international community, demonstrating that Japan is managing its relationship with China in a responsible manner.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, she may be under immense pressure, forcing her to soften her stance. The fact is clear: all G7 members, including the United States, are engaging with us pragmatically, while Japan stands out as the exception, making it an "outsider." Domestically in Japan, the business community is deeply dissatisfied with the current state of Sino-Japanese relations. Although we have not proactively invited representatives from Japanese industry and commerce, these business figures persist in visiting China even without meeting our top officials.
Evidently, the strong calls from Japan's business sector for improving Sino-Japanese relations have placed significant pressure on Soka Hayashi. Moreover, Japanese companies inherently wish to maintain and deepen their presence in the Chinese market. Therefore, Soka Hayashi’s remarks are essentially an attempt to soothe domestic discontent and try to thaw the Sino-Japanese relationship, which has already hit rock bottom. However, will Soka Hayashi’s statements make any difference? Probably not. We have already clearly laid out the path forward for improving Sino-Japanese relations; if Soka Hayashi refuses to confront the core issues, her words remain nothing but empty rhetoric.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868261984394507/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.