Tokyo's ex-ambassador to Beijing says Sino-Japanese ties 'bleeding'Public diplomacy is "badly needed" to open more communication channels between China andJapan, veteran Japanese diplomats told China Daily on Monday.
The current relationship between the two countries is like a human body that is "bleeding", saidYuji Miyamoto, Japanese ambassador to China from 2006 to 2010.
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Tang Jiaxuan (right), head of the China-Japan Friendship Association and former State councilor, holdtalks with Yoichi Masuzoe, visiting president of Japan’s New Renaissance Party on Monday at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Sheng Jiapeng / China News Service |
"To stem the blood flow and recover" is a top priority, he said.
Sino-Japanese ties have been strained since the Japanese government illegally "nationalized"China's Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea last September.
The former ambassador noted that people-to-people exchanges have experienced a majorslump, and direct communications in the civilian sphere are "extremely inadequate".
Miyamoto made the remarks on the same day that Tang Jiaxuan, head of the China-JapanFriendship Association and former State councilor, held talks with Yoichi Masuzoe, visitingpresident of Japan's New Renaissance Party.
Masuzoe, who was Japanese minister of health, labor and welfare from 2007 to 2009, sharedviews with Tang regarding the current situation.
Yasushi Akashi, former under secretary-general of the United Nations, said such delegationsare "definitely helpful".
These non-governmental exchanges and dialogues will "eventually lead to improvement on theofficial, governmental" dimension, said the veteran UN diplomat on peacekeeping anddisarmament affairs.
January witnessed visits to China by a series of prominent Japanese figures, including formerJapanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Japan's New Komeito Party, a junior ruling coalition partner, alsovisited Beijing in a bid to open a channel of communication.
Numerous visitsFormer Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama arrived in Beijing later in the same month.
Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation and Fujio Cho, chairman ofthe Japan-China Economic Association, visited China on March 21.
"As they say, 'One sparrow will not make the spring', so many sparrows have to come. And Ihope many Chinese sparrows will also visit Japan," Akashi said.
Compared with last September when there was a "serious crisis", Akashi said now "things arebeginning to improve, but I think there is much potential for great improvement by the efforts ofboth Japan and China".
A major conflict is "never an option" for both nations to resolve the islands dispute, the veterandiplomats suggested.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty, whichclearly stated both sides' determination to seek a peaceful resolution to sensitive issues.
"Both bilateral documents and the UN Charter have made clear the need to resolve disputesthrough peaceful dialogue, and there is no space for resorting to armed forces," saidMiyamoto, the former ambassador. As for the most important way to resolve the currentstandoff between the two largest Asian economies, Akashi, the former UN diplomat, said theislands issue should be discussed by both sides with "cool minds".
"We have to develop this state of mind, which is rational, which is cool-headed, and we have toavoid armed conflicts by all the necessary means," Akashi said.
Beijing diissed Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera's claim in early February that aChinese navy vessel had "locked its fire-control radar" on a Japanese destroyer in the EastChina Sea in late January. Yasushi Kudo, representative of Japan's Genron NPO think tank,suggested that communication be boosted between Beijing and Tokyo to enhance the bilateralcapacity to manage crises.
Unexpected conflicts may result from misjudgment and misunderstandings, and it is urgent toimprove communications between Beijing and Tokyo to avoid misunderstandings of eachother's intentions, Akashi said.
