US, Japan commit to deepening ties as Tokyo faces China pressure

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral ties in a meeting on Feb 14, as the Asian nation faces escalating tensions with China.

The two officials agreed on the need to modernise economic security relations and discussed Beijing’s latest trade and export measures against Japan, according to a State Department readout released after their talks in Munich.

China has stepped up diplomatic and economic pressure on Japan after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo might come to the aid of Taiwan – the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own – in the event of a conflict with China.

Beijing in January

imposed some controls on exports

to Japan. All dual-use items are banned from being shipped to Japan for military use or “for any other end-user purposes that could enhance Japan’s military capabilities”, China’s Ministry of Commerce has said, without elaborating.

Tokyo has criticised the restrictions as unacceptable, further straining an already tense relationship between the two countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi invoked Japan’s World War II history of aggression in comments at the Munich Security Conference and warned Ms Takaichi against a return to militarism. He said her support for Taiwan was “a very dangerous development” for Asia.

Mr Wang met Mr Rubio on Feb 13.

The remarks by China’s top diplomat are a rebuke to Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who used his appearance at the conference on Feb 13 to downplay tensions with Beijing.

“Even though we have differences, we have disagreements, Japan’s stance is very clear – we are always open to dialogue,” Mr Koizumi said. “We are not going to shut down any channels, regardless of our differences.”

He said Ms Takaichi’s

overwhelming election victory in February

, in which she won a rare supermajority, “gave me the courage to push our security policy”.

Japan will still need to be careful explaining to the public why Tokyo needs to strengthen its security policy, “by explaining what we are seeing around us”, said Mr Koizumi.

Ms Takaichi is due to visit Washington in March to meet President Donald Trump, ahead of the US leader’s planned trip to China the following month. BLOOMBERG