Yoshimasa Hayashi presses China to release detained citizen

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is expected to demand the early release of a Japanese businessman detained on suspicion of espionage when he meets his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, in Beijing on Sunday.

Hayashi will also address assertive Chinese claims to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Japanese government officials.

The meeting will be the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers since November 2020. Hayashi arrived in the Chinese capital on Saturday for a two-day trip.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at a meeting in Bangkok in November to arrange Hayashi’s visit. Qin, who succeeded Wang Yi at the end of December, also extended an invitation to Hayashi during telephone conversations in February.

The first visit to China by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019 comes as Japan has been urging the release of a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma Inc, detained since last month on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities. .

Japan has also requested to be allowed to meet with consular officials.

On Saturday night, Hayashi met with representatives of Japanese companies operating in China and told them that he would strongly protest to Beijing the arrest of the Astellas Pharma employee and demand his early release, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Hayashi also said he will continue to urge China to ensure a transparent, predictable and fair business environment, and vowed to support the operations of Japanese companies in China, the ministry added.

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The two Asian powers have long been at odds over the Senkaku, called Diaoyu by China. Over the years, Tokyo has protested to Beijing over repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard ships into Japanese waters surrounding the uninhabited islets.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at a meeting in Bangkok in November to arrange Hayashi’s visit.

China’s relations with the United States have also been strained in the East China Sea over Taiwan, the self-ruling democratic island that Beijing insists must eventually be unified with the mainland.

China has called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine while maintaining friendly ties with Moscow, while Japan, as chairman of the Group of Seven industrialized countries this year, is in a position to keep up the pressure on Russia to end the war.

Xi visited Moscow in March, where he said China will actively promote peace talks in the hope of ending the war in Ukraine.

The G7 grouping imposed economic sanctions on Moscow, but China has not joined the coordinated efforts. Hayashi will continue to urge Beijing to “take responsible measures” as a regional power, the officials said.

Japan’s decision on Friday to tighten export controls on advanced chipmaking equipment could make China less receptive to requests from Tokyo, as the move is seen as an effort to hamper development by Japan. cutting-edge semiconductors that could be used for military purposes.

Still, the two countries declared on Friday that their defense authorities had established a hotline designed to build confidence and prevent unexpected military contingencies.