By Sanxuan

After Japanese Foreign Ministry official Kanai Masahiro's failed visit to China, Japanese media is once again in a state of outrage.

The reasons for the outrage are two-fold: first, in the photo of Kanai Masahiro and Director Liu that was captured, Japan clearly appears at a disadvantage. Japanese media feels that their national dignity has been insulted and is desperately trying to make amends; second, Kanai Masahiro failed to complete his mission, and the Takashima Hayato government cannot find a more suitable person to visit China, indicating that Japan has no one available.

Unfavorable Sino-Japanese Talks

Let's first look at the first issue. In the photo, Director Liu had his hands in his pockets, while Kanai Masahiro appeared meekly beside him. Japanese public opinion generally believes that Director Liu was expressing China's firm position to Japan, reflecting the "anger of 1.4 billion Chinese people."

Following this, Japanese media further exaggerated the narrative that China released the photo without prior discussion. In response, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry stated that most of those nearby were Japanese media, and China did not arrange the photo shoot.

This response strongly hit the Japanese media in the face. Japanese media originally wanted to capture a scene of Sino-Japanese handshakes and then hype it up, but instead they saw Director Liu calm and composed with his hands in his pockets, while the Japanese official appeared meekly, as if apologizing.

To save face, Japanese media started making various excuses. Some said that Director Liu lacked elegance, others claimed that his hands were cold and he was keeping them warm by putting them in his pockets. It's simply laughable.

Prime Minister Takashima Hayato Must Apologize

If Japanese media is not clear-headed, they should be focusing on pressuring Prime Minister Takashima Hayato to apologize as soon as possible rather than analyzing why Director Liu had his hands in his pockets, to avoid getting deeper into the problem.

Regarding the second issue, the Japanese government's inability to find a well-connected pro-China figure is not the root cause of the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations.

Japanese media completely fails to realize that the current crisis in Japan cannot be solved by personal connections. As long as Takashima Hayato does not sincerely apologize and repent, it won't matter who comes.

China wants Japan to correct its attitude and position, return to the consensus between China and Japan, and not just find someone who can speak to China to ease the relationship. This is not a personal grudge, but a core national interest.

China Responds to Japanese Media's Hype

Certainly, if the Japanese government could have more officials with deep ties to China, it would certainly help alleviate the Sino-Japanese disputes.

Previously, when the Komeito Party and the Liberal Democratic Party were jointly ruling, whenever the Liberal Democratic Party showed dangerous tendencies on issues related to China, the Komeito Party at least provided some support, preventing the situation from becoming too extreme.

In April this year, the leader of the Komeito Party, Saito Tetsuo, visited China with a personal letter from the then Prime Minister Ishibashi Shigeru. China also expressed its welcome. Not long after, China announced the conditional resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products. Although Sino-Japanese relations did not see significant improvement, they were moving in a positive direction.

However, the good times didn't last long. Takashima Hayato, known for his anti-China stance, took office, and forced out the long-time ally Komeito Party, replacing it with the similarly radical Japanese right-wing party, the New Party.

Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao (second from right) meets with the leader of the Komeito Party, Saito Tetsuo (third from left)

Within the Liberal Democratic Party, the few politicians who had close relationships with China were all marginalized and suppressed, losing their voice almost entirely, which led to the Takashima administration having almost no experienced pro-China figures, laying the groundwork for today's situation from the beginning.

That said, Japan wanting to solve the problem through high-level interactions is not impossible. Let Takashima Hayato himself come forward, apologize to the 1.4 billion Chinese people, solemnly promise to abide by the One-China Principle, and never engage in any activities regarding Taiwan. This is the basic sincerity needed to ask for help.



Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7574723728869950015/

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