TOKYO: A Japanese government annual foreign policy report released Tuesday highlighted the country’s policy of strengthening trilateral cooperation with the United States and the Philippines to better counter China’s increasing coercive actions.

Japan strongly opposes any actions that would increase tensions, the 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook, submitted by Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko, said of the situation in the South China Sea, where China is boosting its hegemonic moves.

In light of the difficult strategic environment, Japan will work on materializing trilateral cooperation with the United States and the Philippines, the report said.

At the same time, Japan underlined in the report the importance of working together with China in tackling common challenges.

It is important to comprehensively promote a mutually beneficial strategic relationship between Japan and China and build constructive and stable bilateral relations with efforts on both sides, the report said.

Japan revived the term “mutually beneficial strategic relationship” with China for the first time in five years in its annual foreign policy report.

Also in the report, Japan urged China to immediately lift its ban on imports of Japanese fishery products that was introduced following the start in August last year of the release into the ocean of tritium-containing treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

Tokyo also called on Beijing to immediately remove buoys set up in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and to release Japanese nationals detained in China as soon as possible.

On the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea decades ago, the report said that it is a humanitarian issue that cannot be left unresolved even for a moment, given the time constraints.

The report noted that Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio has said he will promote high-level talks under his direct control to realize a Japan-North Korea summit.

On South Korea, the report said that the country is an important neighbor with which Japan should cooperate as a partner, after Seoul presented in March 2023 a solution to the wartime labor issue. The solution is to have a South Korean government-linked foundation pay compensation on behalf of Japanese companies to South Korean plaintiffs who have won wartime labor lawsuits.

Considering the current severe security environment, close cooperation between Japan and South Korea has never been more necessary than now, the report said.

 Japan’s relations with Russia are in a difficult situation due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Still, the report reiterated that Japan will stick to its policy of resolving a territorial dispute with Russia and concluding a World War II peace treaty with the country.

Jiji Press