September 22, 2012

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on September 21 held talks with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and called for the need to solve the issue of the Senkaku Islands through calm and rational diplomatic negotiations.

Handing to the ambassador the JCP’s proposal on this issue, which he submitted to the Japanese government on the previous day, Shii stated that the JCP claims the legitimacy of Japan’s sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands based on history and international law.

“It is unacceptable to use violent means to express criticism against Japan for whatever reasons,” said Shii, and urged the Chinese government to “promote self-restraint on the part of the Chinese public and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens, companies, and Japan’s embassy in China.”

In order to solve this problem, the Japanese government should abandon its position that there are no territorial disputes over the Senkakus and make necessary efforts to assert the legitimacy of Japan’s sovereignty over the islands through diplomatic negotiations as rationally as possible, the JCP chair stressed.

Promising that he will report on the JCP’s proposal to the Chinese government and the Community Party of China, Ambassador Cheng responded to Shii by saying that while they have a different position on the sovereignty over the islands, they have a similar view regarding the need to solve the issue through diplomatic means. He also explained that he is opposed to violent actions and that the Chinese government calls for calm and rational responses.

“Strengthening of forceful measures and calling for military responses will close the door to a rational solution,” said Shii, calling on the Japanese and Chinese governments to restrain themselves.

He mentioned that the Japanese Communist Party in August voted against Japan’s resolution in protest against the illegal landing on the Senkaku Islands by Honk Kong activists, arguing that the resolution focuses on the strengthening of physical responses and runs counter to a solution through rational dialogue.

In addition to Chinese patrol ships’ repeated entries into Japanese territorial waters, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, in his recent talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, said that China reserves the right to take further action.

Citing these recent moves, Shii said, “Strengthening of forceful measures and calling for military responses will lead to intensifying the tensions between Japan and China and goes against a solution to the issue through rational diplomatic means.”

Ambassador Cheng stated that China’s basic stance is to promote calm and reasonable dialogue and negotiations without escalating the situation any further and stressed the need for bilateral efforts in this regard.