Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday that, at upcoming diplomatic events, he will call on the international community to unite under the idea of a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

Kishida was speaking at a meeting in Tokyo to mark the first anniversary of the Reinventing Infrastructure of Wisdom and Action national council, dubbed Reiwa Rincho.

Referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the prime minister said the world “must not return to the law of the jungle.”

With summit-level diplomatic events, including a Group of 20 summit and a U.N. General Assembly session, scheduled for August and beyond, Kishida also said he will seek to “reconstruct” the United Nations, expressing his eagerness to review the roles of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General.

Meanwhile, Kishida said that Japan-South Korea relations are “clearly showing improvement” and that he hopes to seize this opportunity to further promote the bilateral ties.

In contrast, Japan’s ties with China are “at a standstill,” Kishida noted. He indicated that his government will patiently continue dialogue with Beijing.

At the same Reiwa Rincho meeting, Natsuo Yamaguchi, chief of Komeito, the coalition partner to Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party, said that his party’s decision to end election cooperation with the LDP in Tokyo will not affect the framework of the ruling coalition.

“We will secure a stable base for the administration so that we do not lose sight of the big picture,” Yamaguchi said.

Kenta Izumi, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that his party is “the single biggest force against the LDP government,” distinguishing it from rival opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party).

Izumi ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition with Nippon Ishin, describing the CDP as “centrist liberal” and Nippon Ishin as “reformist conservative” and stressing that his party “does not intend to take power with a force that deviates from the framework of being centrist liberal.”

Nippon Ishin leader Nobuyuki Baba reiterated his party’s goal of replacing the CDP as the largest opposition party by gaining more seats at the next House of Representatives election.

“We aim to evolve into a ruling party within about 10 years,” Baba said.

Yuichiro Tamaki, chief of the Democratic Party for the People, underscored his party’s focus on wage increases.

Tamaki sounded cautious about cooperating with the CDP, saying that the LDP’s policies are more likely to raise wages than those of the CDP.

JIJI Press