Pro-China Leader’s Secret Visit

Former pro-China Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, reportedly visited Beijing and had a meeting with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, later last month. Although there is no detailed information about the meeting, expectation of improvement of the bilateral relationship is growing inside Japan. Wait a moment. Fukuda and current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, hold deep hostility against each other. There should be some reservations in optimism on Japanese diplomacy.

It was unusual for Chinese President to have a meeting with one of the Japanese hi-level leaders after Japan nationalized Senkaku Island in 2012. The meeting was set through independent relationship out of diplomatic channel of both Foreign Ministries. The details of the meeting and impact on the bilateral relationship are still not clear.

Fukuda is well known as sympathetic to China. As a Prime Minister of Japan, he showed a firm standpoint that he would never visit Yasukuni Shrine, in consideration not to stimulate Chinese sentiment against Japan. It was the biggest difference between Abe and Fukuda. On comfort woman, Fukuda reconfirmed Kono Statement, which apologized Japan’s brutal activity in the World War II. Such an attitude looked to be an appeasement toward the Chinese or Koreans for nationalists in Japan including Abe.

Among newspapers in Japan, Nikkei took the visit of Fukuda seriously. It reported that Fukuda had secretly consulted with Abe in the Official Residence of Prime Minister just before visiting China, and that the visit was set with deliberated effort by few staffs around Abe, not professional diplomats in Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Nikkei, Xi showed positive attitude for improving the relationship with Japan and both governments started preparation for summit meeting at the leaders conference of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing in November.

However, considering highly deteriorated personal relationship between Fukuda and Abe, it is unlikely for Fukuda to make an effort to cover up Abe’s unilateral behavior in diplomacy with China. It is also unlikely for Abe to rely on Fukuda, even how Abe wanted to have a breakthrough. One has to read news reports carefully.

One thing is clear. China has been saying that the summit meeting should not be achieved, unless Abe would change his standpoint shown in visiting Yasukuni. Even if Abe achieved reinterpretation of the Constitution to enable exercising collective self-defense right, it is highly unlikely to promise abandoning visiting Yasukuni for the rest of his premiership. And even how Chinese government suffers from internal confusion seen in Uyghur, for example, appeasement to Japan will harm Xi’s presidency that seeks China’s dream. Skepticism is still remaining on this issue.