A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers left for Beijing on Monday to meet Chinese officials for the first time since ties between the two Asian rivals sharply deteriorated after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment on Taiwan angered China.
The delegation includes Gaku Hashimoto, a lawmaker from Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and one lawmaker each from opposition parties Komeito and the Centrist Reform Alliance. They plan to meet Chinese Communist Party officials during a visit running through Thursday, the first high-level contact in about ten months of frozen diplomacy.
The trip follows Takaichi’s remark shortly after taking office that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a survival-threatening situation for Japan, justifying the use of force. The comment crossed what Beijing considers a fundamental red line on Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
China responded by warning its citizens against travel to Japan and imposing trade restrictions that have reportedly led to sharp drops in rare-earth mineral supplies to Japanese firms. Communication between officials on both sides has since been severed across multiple channels.
Communication has been severed in all areas and we are beginning to see their impact in many areas, said Shinichi Isa, a Centrist Reform Alliance spokesperson and former Japanese diplomat in Beijing. I hope we can somehow find a clue to restart a dialogue.
Isa wrote on social media earlier this month that bilateral ties had sunk to their worst since the 1972 normalization of relations. He noted that officials had always remained in communication even during previous lows, but now all channels between officials and ministries have been cut off.
Takaichi has not retracted her Taiwan remarks but made a notable gesture on Aug. 15, when she marked Japan’s World War II surrender anniversary by praying remotely rather than visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which Beijing and Seoul view as a symbol of wartime militarism. The visit to China comes as economic fallout from the diplomatic rift grows, with both sides feeling the strain across trade and supply chains.
A separate group of about 80 business representatives from western Japan’s Kansai region is also planning a visit to China in late November to December, according to Kyodo News, signaling a broader push to restore economic ties between the two largest economies in Asia.
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