Resumption of Party Level Communication

Trying to compensate the loss made by a rigorous leader insisting on his political conviction, the leading parties of Japan started their own diplomacy with China for resuming communication between the nations. In the meeting with Director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Jiarui, Secretary Generals of Liberal Democratic Party, Sadakazu Tanigaki, and Komeito, Yoshihisa Inoue, confirmed that their parties would restart constant meetings by the end of this year. Although it might be a progress in political relationship between Japan and China, no one knows when the normalization of top leaders of both nations will be achieved.

In the meeting, Wang emphasized the necessity of frank communication. “We do not need to exchange diplomatic languages,” told Wang, “but we must not quarrel each other. It is better for us to say what is in our minds straightforwardly.” Inoue replied that the both sides must continue the communication even in a negative situation for both nations. They agreed that the meeting between Japanese leading coalition parties and Communist Party of China should be annually held.

The first leading party meeting was held in 2006, some months before First Shinzo Abe administration embarked on. During the administration of LDP and Komeito, the meeting was maintained with their effort and Tanigaki met with Xi Jinping in Politburo Standing Committee as the Director of Policy Council of LDP in 2007. After those two parties lost their handling of administration, the meeting had been interrupted. The meeting this year was the first one in these six years.

Tanigaki and Inoue reconfirmed that Chinese leaders were not fully confident in normalization of the bilateral relationship. In the meeting of the Chairman of People’s Political Consultative Conference, Yu Zhengsheng, they realized that Chinese leaders were deeply worried about Abe’s statement in the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II. “We want Japan to succeed Murayama Statement in 1995 and Kono Statement in 1993” told Yu. Tanigaki had to confront him with frustration against China’s activity around Senkaku Islands.

As long as Abe maintains his unilateral revisionism on history, China cannot have a momentum to improve the relationship with Japan. Before reconfirming what Abe will say in summer, China will not take action in this bilateral communication. Although the leaders of Chinese National People’s Congress will visit Japan next month and multi-partisan delegation of Japanese national Diet will visit China in May, it after all depends on what kind of attitude Abe will show toward China.