TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister has called on his Chinese counterpart to take action to improve human rights conditions for Uyghurs and stop a repression in Hong Kong, according to an official Japanese report of a call between the officials.
Tokyo’s extraordinarily strong message comes shortly before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga travels to the US for a summit with President Biden on April 16.
Japan is usually wary of angering Beijing, which is its largest trading partner. Tokyo is a closest ally of Washington, but did not join the U.S. and several other countries in March to impose sanctions on China over the repression of the mostly Muslim-Uighur majority.
During the 90-minute call on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also expressed concern with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the continued presence of armed Chinese coastguard ships around islands in the East China Sea that controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing.
In a statement after the call, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Mr. Wang has objected to Japan’s interference in the Xinjiang region, where rights groups claim that the Uyghurs and Hong Kong are being oppressed and that Japan is being encouraged to respect China’s domestic affairs.