Japan says ties with Taiwan are only unofficial in wake of Chinese protests over description of it as a country
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato says country’s basic policy has not changed and relations with the island are non-governmental
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga triggered strong protests from Beijing when he made a passing reference to Taiwan as a country during a parliamentary debate
Japan’s relations with Taiwan are non-governmental and practical and are based on Tokyo’s recognition of China as the sole legitimate government, a senior Japanese official said on Friday, following Beijing’s protest over the prime minister’s recent reference to the island as a country.
As China flexes its muscle in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region, the issue of Taiwan is a sensitive topic, especially as Japan, the United States and other democracies develop closer ties with the self-ruled island, which Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference on Friday that “Japan’s position is to maintain working relations with Taiwan at the nongovernment level,” in line with the 1972 Japan-China Communique, when Tokyo switched the diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. “That’s our basic policy and there is no change to that.”
Suga was answering a question about pandemic measures on Wednesday and made a passing reference to Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia as “three countries”.
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Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the comment violated Japan’s “solemn promise to not regard Taiwan as a country”.
“We strongly deplore Japan’s erroneous remarks and have lodged solemn complaints with Japan, demanding that Japan immediately make clear clarifications to eliminate the adverse effects caused by relevant remarks, and to ensure that such situations will not happen again,” Wang said.
On Friday, Japan’s upper house of the parliament adopted a resolution calling on the World Health Organization to include Taiwan in its general meetings, saying its expertise on coronavirus measures is indispensable.
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Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi carefully referred to Taiwan as “a region” in his brief remark emphasising the importance of including the island for the benefit of international public health.
