During his visit to China, Foreign Minister Hayashi held a meeting with Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo who oversees foreign affairs, and conveyed serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, where China is increasing its maritime advances, and shared the view to maintain close communication at all levels, including the leaders and foreign ministers.
The meeting between Foreign Minister Lin and Politburo Member Wang Yi began at around 2:6 p.m. on June 1, Japan time, and lasted for more than one and a half hours, including dinner.
Minister Hayashi stated, "Japan-China relations are at an important juncture, facing various possibilities, as well as numerous challenges and serious concerns, and it is extremely important that the leaders of the two countries are united in the broad direction of building a constructive and stable relationship."
He also protested the detention of Japan men from major pharmaceutical companies in China and strongly urged their early release, and pointed out that it is important to create an environment in which Japan and Japan companies can operate in China with peace of mind in order to promote cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in the economic field.
While conveying serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, where China is strengthening its maritime advances, the two leaders shared the view that they would continue to maintain close communication at all levels, including the leaders and foreign ministers.
Politburo Member Wang Yi: "Minister Lin is our old friend"
At the beginning of the meeting, Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo who oversees foreign affairs in China, said, "I would like to commend Minister Hayashi for being an old friend of ours and having been involved in the friendship between our two countries for many years. I hope that Minister Hayashi will play an appropriate role for the bilateral relationship," he said, expressing his hope that this visit will lead to an improvement in bilateral relations.