US, Japan commit to deepening bilateral ties as Tokyo faces China pressure

By Kanoko Matsuyama

 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral ties in a meeting Saturday, as the Asian nation faces escalating tensions with China. 

 

The two officials agreed on the need to modernize economic security relations and discussed Beijing’s latest trade and export measures against Japan, according a State Department readout released after their talks in Munich.  

 

China has stepped up diplomatic and economic pressure on Japan after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo might come to the aid of Taiwan — the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own — in the event of a conflict with China.

 

Beijing last month imposed some controls on exports to Japan. All dual-use items are banned from being shipped to Japan for military use or “for any other end-user purposes that could enhance Japan’s military capabilities,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said, without elaborating.

 

Tokyo has criticised the restrictions as unacceptable, further straining an already tense relationship between the two countries. 

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi invoked Japan’s World War II history of aggression in comments at the Munich Security Conference and warned Takaichi against a return to militarism. He said her support for Taiwan was “a very dangerous development” for Asia. Wang met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.

 

The remarks by China’s top diplomat are a rebuke to Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who used his appearance at the conference on Friday to downplay tensions with Beijing.

 

“Even though we have differences, we have disagreements, Japan’s stance is very clear — we are always open to dialogue,” Koizumi said. “We are not going to shut down any channels, regardless of our differences.”

 

He said Takaichi’s overwhelming election victory this month, in which she won a rare supermajority, “gave me the courage to push our security policy.” 

 

Read more: Takaichi Triumphs With Japan’s Biggest Post-War Election Victory

 

Japan will still need to be careful explaining to the public why Tokyo needs to strengthen its security policy, “by explaining what we are seeing around us,” said Koizumi.

 

Takaichi is due to visit Washington in March to meet with President Donald Trump, ahead of US leader’s planned trip to China the following month.