TOKYO – Japan’s foreign minister has asked his Chinese counterpart to take steps to improve Uighur human rights conditions and prevent repression in Hong Kong, according to an official Japanese report on a liaison between the authorities.
Tokyo’s unusually strong message comes shortly before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga travels to the United States for a summit with President Biden on April 16.
Japan is usually cautious about angering Beijing, which is its biggest trading partner. Tokyo is a close ally of Washington, but did not join the United States and several other nations in March in imposing sanctions on China for the repression of its Muslim Uighur majority.
During the 90-minute phone call on Monday, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also raised concerns with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the continued presence of armed Chinese Coast Guard ships around of the islands in the East China Sea controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing.
In a statement after the call, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Wang had opposed Japan’s interference in matters involving the Xinjiang region, where human rights groups alleged repression of Uighurs and Hong Kong and urged Japan to respect the China’s internal affairs.