UPDATE - Japan protests China's detention of national, seeks early release

UPDATE WITH JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER'S MEDIA TALK, HEADING, DECK CHANGE

By Anadolu Agency Staff

ANKARA (AA) - Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Sunday lodged a "strong" protest over China's recent detention of a Japanese national on suspicion of espionage, calling for his immediate release.

Talking to reporters following a three-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing, Hayashi said he also sought consular access to the Japanese citizen and urged China to provide transparency in the judicial process, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

The incarcerated man, said to be an employee of a Japanese pharmaceutical firm, was arrested in China last month on suspicion of engaging in espionage.

He said he also expressed Tokyo's concern over the alleged trespassing of Chinese vessels into waters near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and joint military activities between China and Russia near Japanese territory.

Senkaku Islands are also claimed by Beijing.

On Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island regarded by Beijing as its territory, Hayashi said he underscored the importance of "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait amid increasing Chinese military pressure in the region.

The Japanese minister said that he also called on Beijing to play a "responsible role," based upon international law, in mediating between Ukraine and Russia.

The two sides, he went on to say, agreed to maintain close communication "at all levels" to improve ties.

Earlier, the top diplomats opened talks in Beijing on Sunday to discuss a slew of thorny issues ranging from the release of a Japanese businessman detained on suspicion of espionage in China and a lingering territorial row.

This was the first meeting in person between Hayashi, who is undertaking the first trip to China by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019, and Qin, who took the office late last year.

The Japanese foreign minister, in his opening remarks, said that it is becoming "increasingly important" Japan and China uphold "constructive and stable" bilateral relations agreed upon by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit talks last November, despite "many challenges."

Last November, Kishida, and Xi agreed at a summit in Bangkok to arrange Hayashi's visit to China.

Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the 1978 bilateral “Peace and Friendship Treaty,” Qin said that "right choices" must be made to honor the spirit of the pact.

He vowed to work with his Japanese counterpart to promote further exchanges and dialogue so that the two countries can "move ahead by removing obstacles."