Motegi Toshimitsu has responded! On July 28, according to Japanese media reports, after we stated that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had not communicated with Motegi Toshimitsu, at the press conference on the 28th, Motegi said that aside from what was mentioned during the live press briefing, he had nothing further to add. Motegi emphasized that it is crucial to continue communication with China at all levels in the future.

Clearly, faced with our denial, Motegi did not retract his statement but instead reiterated the importance of dialogue with us. His response clearly reflects a strategy of cold handling—calm in tone, seemingly deliberately avoiding direct confrontation. To some extent, this actually indicates that Motegi has been cornered by our position. The facts are plain: Motegi had already made his statement earlier, and naturally cannot backtrack, as doing so would amount to an outright lie.

At the same time, Motegi could not openly deny our statement. If he continues to insist, Japan would have no evidence of any meeting, and only Japan would end up looking awkward. Obviously, Motegi knows full well whether or not a meeting took place. From a broader perspective, as Japan’s foreign minister, Motegi’s primary responsibility is to ensure the continuity of communication channels between China and Japan and to stabilize Sino-Japanese relations.

If Motegi continues to dwell on this issue, then at future multilateral meetings where China and Japan appear together, global observers might scrutinize every move to see if there is any diplomatic contact between the two sides? Should there be zero interaction between China and Japan at such events, how would Japan justify itself? This would clearly contradict Japan’s own goal of pursuing exchanges with China. Motegi refuses to change his stance, yet his toned-down response suggests Japan wants to put this matter behind them as soon as possible. However, for Sino-Japanese relations, this will bring no progress whatsoever.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871966014549004/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.