TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio brought up the issue of Senkaku Islands and the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

In their first telephone talks since Kishida took office on Monday, the two leaders agreed to continue dialogue over the issues.

The Japanese-administered islands in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, are claimed by China, which call them Diaoyu.

Referring to the 50th anniversary in 2022 of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, Kishida said that the two countries need to establish a constructive and stable bilateral relationship together. Xi agreed with Kishida.

Their discussions, which lasted about 30 minutes, did not cover a postponed visit to Japan by Xi, sources with familiar with the talks said.

“Japan and China have various problems as they are neighboring countries,” Kishida told reporters after the talks. “I want to have frank discussions with Xi, saying what I must say.”

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi said the Japan-China relationship has both opportunities and challenges.

The two countries need to maintain the political base for bilateral relations by properly addressing important and sensitive issues, such as history and Taiwan issues, Xi said.

Kishida later held 25-minute phone talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They affirmed a policy of promoting cooperation toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific through bilateral relations and the Quad framework involving Japan, the United States, Australia and India.

JIJI Press