By Tomoyuki Tachikawa,
The foreign ministers of Japan and China confirmed Friday that they will continue communicating with each other, as bilateral relations remain strained over the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
During the 50-minute talks on the sidelines of ASEAN-related gatherings in Laos, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, were at odds over several issues, including the water discharge, Taiwan and Beijing's detention of a Japanese man.
Kamikawa asked for the early release of the Japanese citizen detained for alleged espionage, while Wang reiterated his call for the establishment of a long-term global monitoring system for the treated water, in which relevant countries would participate.
The foreign ministers held bilateral talks for the first time since November 2023, when they also had a trilateral meeting with South Korea. Japan is seeking to promote high-level exchanges to resolve various disputes between Tokyo and Beijing.
At the outset of their meeting, Kamikawa told Wang that Tokyo will advance dialogue "in a multi-layered and persistent manner" with Beijing. Wang said China wants to move relations forward to "overcome difficulties together."
Kamikawa and Wang agreed Tokyo and Beijing will accelerate talks on the treated radioactive water discharge, the Japanese government said. China's Foreign Ministry, however, quoted Wang as saying the two nations are "at a critical stage" in improving bilateral ties.
The two ministers also discussed North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear development programs as well as issues surrounding self-ruled Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Communist-led China and democratic Taiwan have been governed separately since they split due to a civil war in 1949. Beijing has stepped up military provocations in the Taiwan Strait, saying the island is at "the core of China's core interests."
Kamikawa, meanwhile, urged Wang to remove a buoy that China has installed in the waters around the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, according to the Japanese government.
In their in-person bilateral talks in late May, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida conveyed Japan's "serious concern" to Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who assumed the position in March 2023, about Beijing's increasing military activities in nearby waters.
Kamikawa told Wang that it is "extremely important" for Beijing to make efforts to create an environment in China in which Japanese people can live, and private companies can operate "with confidence," the government said.
The two countries have agreed to restart exchanges between their foreign ministers and other senior government officials, with Japan also calling for the resumption of visa exemptions for short-term stays for its nationals.
Kamikawa and Wang met as the Japanese foreign minister makes arrangements to visit China, but it remains uncertain whether the two nations can pave the way to build constructive and stable bilateral relations, given their ongoing disputes.
As for the treated water discharge, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report submitted in July 2023 to Japan that the release aligns with global safety standards and would have a "negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."
But China has criticized Japan for discharging "nuclear-contaminated" water into the ocean from the plant, which suffered reactor fuel meltdowns after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
With Tokyo requesting Beijing to lift its blanket ban on Japanese seafood products, imposed immediately after the beginning of the water release in August 2023, the two countries have confirmed that they will approach the issue from a scientific perspective.
Following his meeting with Kamikawa, Wang told reporters that it is "necessary to find a solution" to the confrontation over the water discharge "as soon as possible."
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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