At the end of September, former Japanese Foreign Minister Iwata Takeshi visited China as the president of the Japan International Trade Promotion Association. During his two-day visit, he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng of the State Council. The Japanese media, Shimbun, commented that this was the first time in recent years that Chinese officials at the top level had met with Japanese parliamentarians since the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations. It was rare to have such meetings over two consecutive days. During the meeting, China emphasized the importance of Sino-Japanese relations and also used Japan as a leverage on the Taiwan issue.
According to a report by the Japanese FNN news website on October 7, upon returning to Japan, Iwata Kazuhiro held a press conference in Bufu City, Oita Prefecture, his hometown, to introduce the situation of his visit. He called on the Japanese government to continue making efforts to improve relations between China and Japan.
When discussing the root causes of the deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations, he said bluntly: "Frankly speaking, the reasons are caused by us. Therefore, I hope that the Japanese government will make genuine efforts to improve relations." The Japanese media "Mainichi Shimbun" stated that these remarks were directed at the serious mistakes made by Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Modi regarding Taiwan.
At the press conference, Iwata Takeshi said that one of the purposes of this trip is to create opportunities for improving Sino-Japanese relations, and that some progress has been made in 'creating an environment conducive to the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations'.
He added that during talks with the Chinese side, although both sides agreed on the necessity of improving Japan-China relations, he felt that the Chinese attitude was very strict and tough.
“(China and Japan) There is already a lack of trust between the two sides, and this is a fact. Therefore, it is hoped that the Japanese government will make genuine efforts to eliminate this lack of trust.” At the same time, he also called on China to open the door for communication and interaction between China and Japan.
According to a report by the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 7th, Kenichi Iwasue also mentioned in his latest interview that China stated during the meeting that 'Japanese-China relations are once again facing a severe situation, and it is necessary to normalize relations again.' He expressed a serious view on Japanese-China relations and demanded that Yukio Akamatsu 'correct' his wrong statements regarding Taiwan.
According to Yoshihide Iwata, during the meeting he explained to the Chinese side that Japan's policy towards Taiwan had not changed. The subsequent response from Gao Shi also confirmed this. However, due to the political hurdles involved in withdrawing such statements, he proposed that the two governments could achieve what they call a ‘de facto withdrawal’ by reaffirming the spirit of the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration.
However, this proposal was rejected by China. China replied, "A vague approach is not acceptable. There’s a saying in China that goes, 'The person who caused the problem should also fix it.'"
During the interview, Iwata once again emphasized the significance of visiting China, saying, "It is true that China believes it is necessary to have dialogue with the Japanese side. But first, someone needs to take the initiative to talk about this, and it is important to convey that there are also people in Japan who strongly believe that relations should be improved."
