(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s new foreign minister asked China’s government to provide a proper accounting of the facts in the stabbing death of a schoolboy in China last month, in a sign the new government in Tokyo will continue to push Beijing to explain the attack.
Japan wants an explanation as soon as possible, its new foreign minister, Takeshi Iwaya, told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in their first phone call, according to a statement from the Japanese government on Wednesday.
Despite repeated requests since the incident, the Chinese government hasn’t made clear the motives of the attacker. Iwaya told Wang the uncertainty — alongside the arrests of Japanese nationals — was leaving Japanese in China increasingly concerned.
Wang didn’t provide any new information, Iwaya told reporters in Tokyo after the call, according to the Nikkei newspaper. Beijing has also not given any explanation of the attacker’s motivations in a previous stabbing incident against Japanese in June this year.
Japan and China have a close economic relationship but are increasingly at odds diplomatically. The divide between them extends over a number of fraught bilateral issues including a territorial dispute, Japan’s concern about the increasingly active Chinese military and threats against Taiwan.
China worries about the growing closeness of Japan, South Korea and the US, which have been strengthening their political and military ties.
Iwaya is a close confidante of Shigeru Ishiba, who became Japan’s prime minister in October after being elected to head the largest party. Earlier this month, Iwaya told reporters that both dialogue and deterrence were needed regarding China.
The new premier has called for a review of the nation’s alliance with the US, stronger defense and the formation of an “Asian NATO” to better counter aggression from countries like China and North Korea.
In his talks with Wang, Iwaya protested the intrusion of a Chinese military plane into Japanese airspace in August and the passage of a Chinese aircraft carrier between two Japanese islands last month, requesting that Beijing provide a proper explanation of the plane incident.
Wang said that China appreciated the “positive signals” the new Japanese cabinet has sent since taking office, according to a report from Chinese state TV. He called on Japan to prevent external forces from stirring up trouble and provoking regional conflicts, and reiterated that Japan should adhere to the ‘One-China principle’ on issues related to Taiwan.
Iwaya in turn said that Japan is closely watching the military situation around the self-ruled island and emphasized that the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait was of critical importance for Japan and the whole world.
Ishiba visited Taiwan earlier this year before he won office, expressing solidarity with it and meeting President Lai Ching-te. And in late September, the Japanese military sent a warship through the strait for the first time since re-establishing its armed forces after World War II, according to local media.
China protested that transit and has made clear it opposes any official visits by politicians of other countries to Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory.
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