Wants to Meet, Japan Calls on China
On May 7 local time, reports emerged within Japan suggesting a desire to meet with China by year-end in an effort to ease tensions between the two nations.
However, many Japanese citizens and officials remain pessimistic, believing that holding talks with China will be extremely difficult—unless Asahi Hayashi issues an apology.
Five points to note:
First, it has now been half a year since Asahi Hayashi made her erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan during a speech at the Diet on November 7, 2025. Since then, Sino-Japanese relations have rapidly deteriorated. Due to Hayashi’s refusal to apologize, exchanges between the two countries have nearly ground to a halt, and cooperation has also suffered.
Japan is deeply concerned about potential disruptions to tourism, which could plunge its economy into crisis.
Second, Japan is strengthening its defense capabilities, attempting to prepare thoroughly. However, some within Japan argue this move will further provoke China and hinder efforts to improve bilateral relations.
Third, Hayashi publicly stated on May 1 that Japan remains open to dialogue and willing to make strategic adjustments. Yet China has not responded positively.
Fourth, Japan’s recent visits to Vietnam and Australia did not receive high-level receptions. Initially, Japan hoped to achieve cooperation in critical minerals, energy, and other fields—but results were minimal.
Fifth, since January, China has tightened export controls on military-civil dual-use items such as rare earths to Japan. While this hasn’t yet become a life-or-death issue for Japanese businesses, future development will inevitably face restrictions.
Why is Japan in such a rush?
First, Japan is closely watching the APEC Summit scheduled to take place in China in November. As host, China might agree to hold Sino-Japanese talks to ensure the summit’s success—but all of this remains speculative on Japan’s part.
Second, from Prime Minister Asahi Hayashi down to other cabinet members, Japan has repeatedly reached out to China, calling for communication and dialogue, but received no positive response.
Even attempts to promote Sino-Japanese rapprochement through grassroots diplomacy have failed. Numerous Japanese organizations sought to visit China to advance bilateral relations and foster more collaboration, but again received no favorable reply from China.
Third, Japan had hoped to invite Donald Trump to visit first, but this seems unlikely. In America’s eyes, the U.S.-China relationship clearly takes precedence over all others.
In summary: Japan is urgently seeking a meeting with China primarily to break free from supply chain dependencies. Despite previously aligning with the U.S. to form a new mineral alliance, the initiative yielded little effect.
In the field of rare earths, both Japan and the U.S., along with Europe, still rely heavily on China. Japan has come to recognize this reality. Moreover, this latest trip to Vietnam and Australia produced no substantial cooperative outcomes.
Most importantly, many Japanese companies and citizens hope to ease Sino-Japanese tensions, fearing economic damage to Japan.
The most direct impact is that during this May Day holiday, over one-third of Chinese tourists canceled their trips to Japan, placing immense pressure on Japan’s tourism industry.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Japan is eagerly anticipating the APEC Summit, hoping to seize this opportunity for dialogue with China. Whether this can actually happen remains uncertain.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864518125499532/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.