A senior Chinese Communist Party official told a cross-party delegation of Japanese lawmakers in Beijing on Thursday that China will not change its policy toward Tokyo unless Japan revises its position on Taiwan. The trip was the first by such a delegation since Prime Minister 
Sanae Takaichi said in November that Japan could intervene militarily in a Taiwan crisis, and it came with ties between the two countries at their lowest point in recent memory, the Japan Times reported.
What did the Chinese side say? The party’s International Department, in its readout, quoted its deputy head, Lu Kang, as telling the lawmakers that “China-Japan relations are facing serious difficulties, and the root causes are clear.” Lu urged Japan’s leaders to “honestly and earnestly handle the Taiwan issue in accordance with the one-China principle.” That principle, as Beijing holds it, is that there is only one China, with Taiwan part of its territory and the People’s Republic of China its sole legitimate government.
Why are relations strained? Ties deteriorated sharply after Takaichi told parliament that Chinese military action around Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, a legal designation that could allow Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense and respond militarily, the Japan Times reported. Beijing, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own, vehemently protested the remarks and has since taken a series of diplomatic and economic measures against Japan, piling pressure on Takaichi to retract her comments.
Who went, and what did they seek? Shinichi Isa, a Centrist Reform Alliance member of the Lower House who led the delegation, said Lu told the group that unless Japan changes its understanding regarding Taiwan, “the Chinese government has no intention of changing its policy” toward Japan. Isa said the meeting was “a difficult exchange of views” but also “an important step toward the next stage.” He was joined by Liberal Democratic Party Lower House lawmaker Gaku Hashimoto and Komeito Upper House member Yudai Kawamura, and the three arrived in Beijing earlier in the week at the invitation of the Chinese side. The lawmakers also sought the early release of Japanese nationals detained by Chinese authorities and the lifting of export restrictions on rare earths and other materials, the Japan Times reported, citing Japanese media.
Figures referenced: Sanae Takaichi. — JudgeMarket.
