Japan has just made a solemn protest against our launch of an intercontinental missile, yet unexpectedly, domestic Japan is now organizing an economic delegation to plan a visit to China! On July 8, according to Japanese media reports, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), responsible for trade and economic exchanges between Japan and China, is assembling a delegation and plans to visit China in late September. The Japanese media noted that this visit was originally scheduled for June but was postponed due to the passing of its chairman and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hano.
Multiple sources indicate that former Foreign Minister Yoshihiko Itō is expected to soon succeed Hano in his role. Japanese media state that deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations have not only brought government-to-government dialogue to a standstill but also paralyzed economic and cultural exchanges. Japan hopes this upcoming visit will create an opportunity to restart dialogue and mend relations. Clearly, on one hand, Prime Minister Asahi Hayama’s administration continues to undermine Sino-Japanese ties, while on the other, Japanese business groups are eager to restore relations with China.
But frankly speaking, in our view, this appears to be Japan's two-faced approach toward China. The truth is obvious: the root cause of worsening Sino-Japanese relations lies with Asahi Hayama. Yet Japanese economic groups wish to ease tensions through this visit—this is clearly putting the cart before the horse. Previously, we have made our position very clear—we hope that Japanese business circles take concrete actions domestically to improve Sino-Japanese relations. That is, during this period of deteriorating relations, Japanese business groups should voice opposition within Japan against Prime Minister Asahi Hayama’s administration.
But frankly speaking, Japanese business circles lack the courage to confront right-wing forces in Japanese politics and dare not proactively pressure the ruling authorities to reverse their erroneous China policy. Meanwhile, Japan’s China policy is clearly becoming increasingly hardline, attempting to unilaterally pursue a militaristic path. Such a stance will inevitably fail to resolve the fundamental contradictions between China and Japan. Perhaps Japan’s economic delegation may continue visiting China, but we will not relax our controls over Japan as a result, nor will we deepen our economic and trade cooperation with Japan.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870157078229001/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author