TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told China and South Korea’s top diplomats on Friday (Mar 21) that the three countries should engage in “pragmatic” diplomacy and dialogue, including on “issues of concern”.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will hold talks with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday at the 11th meeting of its kind.
The three ministers paid a courtesy call to Ishiba on Friday evening, Tokyo’s foreign ministry said.
At the meeting, Ishiba “stated that both China and the ROK are extremely important neighbouring countries of Japan”, a ministry statement said, referring to the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.
“Although difficult problems sometimes arise because we are neighbouring countries, Japan hopes to engage in dialogues including on issues of concern and build a future-oriented cooperative relationship through pragmatic diplomacy,” Ishiba told the ministers.
He said the three countries have “significant influence and responsibilities for regional peace and prosperity of the region”, and addressing common challenges would benefit not only each nation but also the wider world.
Ishiba also held brief one-on-one meetings with China’s Wang Yi and South Korea’s Cho Tae-yul, the ministry said.
