China demands Japan correct Taiwan remarks to normalize strained diplomatic relations

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told former Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya in Beijing that Japan must correct its leaders’ remarks on Taiwan to help normalize severely strained relations. The dispute follows Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan and prompt a response, drawing sharp criticism from Beijing. Wang also pressed Japan to address historical issues and warned against abandoning its pacifist principles, while Iwaya said the relationship was concerning and called for renewed dialogue. Iwaya led a Japanese trade-promotion delegation seeking to improve ties and revive economic cooperation amid the diplomatic row.
Beijing warned its citizens against traveling to Japan and imposed trade restrictions amid the dispute; those measures reportedly caused a sharp drop in rare-earth supplies to Japanese companies.
Iwaya’s delegation included about 50 business leaders, and the visit aimed to promote trade that had been affected by restrictions and fees since November.
The visit came a month after Japanese lawmakers traveled to Beijing to try to repair relations but made little progress.
Wang linked the dispute to Japan’s wartime history, warning that challenging its postwar pacifist Constitution, denying its history of aggression or glorifying war criminals would leave Japan unable to face the world or build a future.
The JAPIT visit had been postponed from June following the death of its former president, former Japanese foreign minister Yohei Kono.
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