Head of Japan coalition partner postpones China visit at China's request

At China’s request, the chairman of Japan’s junior coalition partner Komeito party would postpone his planned trip there, the party said on Saturday.

From August 28 to 30, Natsuo Yamaguchi intended to travel to China in order to meet with President Xi Jinping and deliver a personal letter from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

According to a statement from the party, the Chinese side advised Komeito on Saturday that “the timing is not appropriate considering the current situation of Japan-China relations”.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Despite domestic and international opposition, Japan started discharging cleaned radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday into the Pacific Ocean. China, for one, condemned the action and banned all Japanese aquatic items.

In a meeting last week, Kishida and the presidents of the United States and South Korea also denounced China’s “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea and pledged to strengthen their military and economic cooperation.

In a statement, Komeito expressed the desire “to readjust the proper timing of the visit in the future.”

According to the party, the Chinese side had stated that they valued Komeito’s efforts to make the visit possible and acknowledged the value of their country’s long-standing good relations with Komeito.

(With agency inputs