On July 6, heated debates on whether to oppose China’s execution of its national security law for Hong Kong and coast guards’ frequent intrusions into territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands were held at the LDP’s joint committee stated in the headline. As a result, the committee decided to submit a proposal urging the government to suspend China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Japan as a state guest. As to whether the government as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will manage to accomplish its negotiations with China to that effect, all members of the LDP, together with the Japanese people, should keep a sharp eye on their actions.
When I returned to the LDP last September after I resigned from the Minister of the Environment, I made the proposal to the same effect several times at the General Council in the LDP, and I also visited China to convey the message to the concerned government officials. While the President’s visit to Japan, initially scheduled for April this year, was postponed mainly due to the COVID-19, there is a growing sense of crisis among the LDP members against China because of its too aggressive hegemonic actions in the East China Sea including the Senkaku Islands and the South China Sea. The joint committee’s proposal will further be examined by the LDP’s management prior to its submission to the government.
