Japan foreign minister gets China invite; ‘paying close attention’ to Peng Shuai issue

Yoshimasa Hayashi said in an interview that his counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday invited him to China but ‘no arrangements’ were yet in progress

Asked about Washington’s proposed ‘diplomatic boycott’ of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Hayashi said Tokyo would proceed based on its own point of view

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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has been seen as relatively friendly towards China. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 1:17pm, 21 Nov 2021Updated: 9:19pm, 21 Nov 2021

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Sunday said his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi invited him for an official visit during a recent phone conversation, but arrangements were not in progress.

Hayashi, who became Japan’s top diplomat on November 10, and Wang agreed on the need to stabilise relations between their countries but remained apart on territorial and human rights issues when they spoke on Thursday.

“Nothing is set, and no arrangements are being made,” Hayashi said in a Fuji TV interview.

The China invitation comes as ties between Japan and its biggest trading partner become increasingly fraught over concerns about disputed islands in the East China Sea as well as Beijing’s clampdown on Hong Kong and tensions around Taiwan.

Mutual visits by government officials from the two countries have also been largely on hiatus during the pandemic, and Wang last visited Japan a year ago.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, pictured with former Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo on November 25, 2019. Photo: AP

Hayashi, who was appointed after last month’s general election, has been seen as relatively friendly towards China, having previously headed a lawmakers’ group promoting exchanges between the two countries.

Asked about US President Joe Biden’s proposed “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Hayashi told Fuji TV Japan would proceed based on its own situation and point of view.