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Japan concerned over Uighur issue in China

Kato made the remarks after outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Tuesday that China has committed
Kato made the remarks after outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Tuesday that China has committed "genocide" against Muslim Uighurs (AFP)
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20 Jan 2021 04:01:39 GMT9
20 Jan 2021 04:01:39 GMT9

TOKYO: Japan’s top government spokesman on Wednesday expressed Tokyo’s concern over the situation surrounding ethnic Uighurs in China.

“We are closely watching with concern the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a press conference, adding that the Japanese government will firmly convey its stance on the matter to China.

Kato made the remarks after outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Tuesday that China has committed “genocide” against Muslim Uighurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in the region. Pompeo also said, “I believe this genocide is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, Kato refrained from commenting on the possibility of Japan banning imports of goods produced with forced labor of Uighurs.

Elsewhere in the press conference, Kato avoided making specific comments on South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s nomination on Wednesday of Chung Eui-yong, former national security chief of the neighboring country, as foreign minister to replace Kang Kyung-wha. “It’s a personnel matter in the government of another country,” he said.

Japan-South Korea relations are “in a very serious state” due to wartime labor and other issues, Kato said. “We’ll continue to urge the South Korean side to take appropriate action,” he added.

Kato also said that there has been no plan for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga or Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to hold a meeting with new South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il.

On the U.N. treaty to ban the production, possession and use of nuclear weapons, which is set to take effect on Friday, Kato said that Japan shares the goal of eliminating nuclear arms, while stressing the importance of promoting nuclear disarmament with the involvement of nuclear states.

As to the possibility of Japan, which has not signed the landmark treaty, taking part in related meetings as an observer, Kato said that the government will carefully consider the issue.

JIJI Press

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