Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, third from right, meet on Nov. 16 in San Francisco. (Yuki Shibata)

SAN FRANCISCO--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to immediately lift the ban on Japanese seafood imports that started after the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. 

Kishida and Xi met here Nov. 16 for their first summit in a year.

After the meeting, Kishida told reporters, “Japan and China agreed to work together to resolve the issue through discussions and dialogue while holding a constructive attitude.”

The prime minister added, “I asked for a calm response based on scientific evidence and the immediate withdrawal of China’s import ban on Japanese food products.”

He said experts from the two nations would conduct discussions from a scientific perspective.

Kishida also said he called on Xi to release as soon as possible Japanese nationals detained in China on grounds they were spying.

The prime minister told reporters he also raised deep concerns about the situation in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands, and called for the immediate removal of buoys placed by China within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Kishida also raised concerns about China’s military activities in the vicinity of Japan, including joint training exercises with Russia.

He also told Xi that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was extremely important for Japan and the international community.

Kishida refrained from going into details about the specific responses made by Xi.

“I want to continue making efforts about how our two nations are to handle these various issues while striving to keep channels of communication open,” the prime minister said.

He added that the two sides agreed that the bilateral relationship should move in a constructive and stable direction. The two sides reconfirmed promoting a comprehensive strategic relationship seeking mutual benefits and to hold close talks at various levels, including at the top.

At the start of the summit, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Kishida said, “As powers that must lead the international community, Japan and China have the responsibility to contribute to peace and prosperity in the world.”

He pointed out that when he last met Xi in Thailand in November 2022, they had agreed to construct a constructive and stable bilateral relationship.

“I want to create a bright future for Japan-China ties and look forward to a frank exchange of views from a larger perspective,” Kishida said.

Xi also expressed hopes for improved relations between the two countries.

“The two sides should grasp the major trends of history, respond to the changes of the times, focus on shared benefits, appropriately handle differences of opinion and reconfirm where we are in terms of a strategic relationship seeking mutual benefits as well as to give it new contents and make every effort to construct a Chinese-Japanese relationship that matches the demands of the new age,” Xi said. 

(This article was written by Keishi Nishimura, Shino Matsuyama and Tokuhiko Saito.)

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