Japan watching Hong Kong situation with ‘deep concern’, Shinzo Abe says
- Tokyo did not sign a joint statement with the US and UK criticising the new law
- But Abe said Japan had expressed its concern and said it was important for the Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ mode of governance to be upheld
But Tokyo was deeply concerned, Abe told parliament.
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“Hong Kong is an extremely important partner in terms of both tight economic ties and human relations, and it is important that the original system of ‘one nation, two systems’ be upheld and things proceed stably and democratically,” he said.
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A government source familiar with the matter said Japan did not participate in the joint statement partly because of “rather short notice” and partly in order to focus on efforts by the Group of Seven nations, rather than the signatories.
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Other countries had expressed appreciation for Japan’s independent efforts, and it received no complaints, added the source, who sought anonymity because the matter was sensitive.
“We’ve expressed our opinions this way directly and promptly to China at a high level and have made our opinions quite clear to international society,” Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference.
