Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida refused to meet Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kun Xuanyu before he returned to China, Kyodo news agency reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the agency’s interlocutors, a request for a meeting was sent to the Japanese government in January, but Tokyo refused, explaining this by a “discrepancy in schedules.” One source claims that Japan took “mirror measures” after Japanese Ambassador to China Yutaka Yokoi was unable to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2020 before leaving.
Instead of Kishida, the Chinese ambassador was received by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, agency sources say. The meeting was not officially announced.
According to Kyodo, Kishida broke with custom amid a crisis in bilateral relations between Japan and China due to “the growing rivalry between China and the United States – Japan’s main security ally – as well as Beijing’s military pressure on Taiwan and its close ties with Russia.”
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
