TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister MOTEGI Toshimitsu on Monday expressed grave concern over human rights abuses in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

In a telephone conversation with Wang, Motegi also brought up the issues of the Chinese coast guard’s intrusions into Japanese waters off the Senkaku Islands and China’s new law allowing its coast guard to use weapons against foreign vessels for what Beijing sees as violations of its sovereignty.

Motegi demanded concrete action over the issues.

He said Japan is requesting Myanmar’s military to stop its violence against citizens immediately, release detained people and restore a democratic political system.

The two ministers agreed that the unity of the international community is important to improve the situation in the Southeast Asian country.

Motegi agreed with Wang to cooperate toward the denuclearization of North Korea. Motegi asked for understanding for Japan’s wish to resolve the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals, and Wang expressed support.

The two ministers showed their expectations for further expansion of bilateral exchanges ahead of next year’s 50th anniversary of the normalization of the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

They also confirmed that their countries will have dialogue over climate change and the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The phone conversation, which lasted about 90 minutes, took place at the request of China. The previous time the two ministers talked was November last year, when Wang visited Japan.

JIJI Press