Is a Cross-Party Japanese Parliamentary Delegation Preparing to Visit China?

On the 19th, Kyodo News cited sources saying that a cross-party delegation led by Shigeru Hashimoto, a member of the House of Representatives from the Liberal Democratic Party, Izo Shinichi, a member of the House of Representatives from the Komeito–Reform United coalition, and Osamu Ogawa, a member of the House of Councillors from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is scheduled to visit China from August 24 to 27.

Kyodo News did not disclose the full list of visiting members. However, based on publicly available information about these three politicians: Hashimoto belongs to the Shigehisa faction within the LDP and is considered a pragmatic right-winger who advocates for enhanced exchanges with China; Izo Shinichi is a former member of Komeito and previously served as secretary at the Japanese Embassy in China, with fluent Chinese language skills; Ogawa is a Councillor from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, holding left-leaning and centrist positions, and has long argued that Japan's security legislation is unconstitutional and opposed the expansion of collective self-defense rights.

Additionally, Hashimoto visited China earlier this year in his capacity as deputy president of the Japan Association for International Trade Promotion.

In sum, given their political stances, in today’s Japanese political landscape—where mainstream politics has increasingly shifted toward the right or even far-right—these three legislators are hardly influential, if not already marginalized, especially regarding the current hardline attitudes of the government and Japan’s prevailing societal fervor.

According to Japanese media reports, Hashimoto and the other two are very eager to engage in dialogue with China in order to ease tensions between the two countries. But the issue lies here: the current impasse in Sino-Japanese relations stems from Hisashi Hayashi’s false remarks on Taiwan, which she has neither retracted nor shown remorse for, and continues to provoke China repeatedly. Unless Japan takes concrete steps to correct its mistakes, merely hoping to "clarify issues" through talks with China will not resolve the deadlock.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873948424603660/

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