Japan’s foreign minister urges China to release detained national 

TOKYO/BEIJING – Japan’s foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who met his Chinese counterpart on Sunday, has urged Beijing to promptly release a detained Japanese national.

Mr Hayashi’s meeting with Mr Qin Gang was the

first visit to Beijing by a Japanese foreign minister

in over three years, as the two rival Asian powers seek common ground amid rising regional tension. 

An employee of Astellas Pharma Inc was detained in China for unknown reasons, a company spokesman said a week ago. At least 16 other Japanese have been detained in China on suspicion of spying since 2015, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.

“I made a protest against the recent detention of a Japanese person in Beijing, and made a strong point of our position on the matter, including the early release of this national,” Mr Hayashi told reporters.

In response, Mr Qin said China “will handle (the case) according to the law”, said a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry. 

Mr Hayashi said Japan is seeking transparency over the legal process regarding detentions and has asked for China to secure a fair and safe business environment. He did not elaborate on China’s reaction. 

He also said he conveyed Japan’s grave concerns over an increase in China’s military activity, including its closeness with Russia and its maritime presence in the East China Sea.

“We both affirmed the importance of continuing to have a dialogue on issues including national security,” he added. 

Mr Hayashi said he also spoke to Mr Qin about the “importance of ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan strait”.

Beijing said Mr Qin warned Japan “not to interfere in the Taiwan issue or undermine China’s sovereignty in any form”, stressing that Taiwan is “the core of China’s core interests”. 

Regional tension has been rising over Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province to be reunified, by force if necessary.

Japan also lodged a diplomatic complaint in August 2022 after

five ballistic missiles launched by the Chinese military

fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, near disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

After Tokyo on Friday

announced export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment,

following the United States, Mr Qin warned his counterpart “not to play accomplice to an evil-doer”. 

The curbs are aligned with similar measures from the US and the Netherlands, aimed at restricting China’s ability to make advanced chips. 

Mr Hayashi told reporters the restrictions “are not aimed at any specific country”. 

Despite their differences, China and Japan agreed to restart trilateral talks with South Korea, Mr Hayashi said, calling the agreement “an important achievement” from his meeting with Mr Qin. 

“We agreed to continue communicating closely on various levels, including the foreign ministerial and leadership levels,” he added. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping

met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit

in November, the first bilateral summit in almost three years. REUTERS