China's top diplomat Wang Yi complained Tuesday about Japanese lawmakers' visits to Taiwan, noting that more of them travel there than to the mainland, which claims the self-ruled democratic island, a senior Japanese ruling party member said.
Hiroshi Moriyama, a veteran House of Representatives lawmaker and chief of the Liberal Democratic Party's decision-making general council, told reporters that Wang expressed the concern to him during a meeting in Beijing.
The top diplomat also warned that the Taiwan Strait is "not a political showground," urging Tokyo to be cautious in its words and deeds and ensure that the Taiwan issue will not damage or shake the foundation of Sino-Japanese relations, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Moriyama, who made a five-day trip to China through Tuesday, said factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic have prevented many Japanese Diet members from visiting the mainland, but he believes "as many ruling and opposition lawmakers as possible should come to China" for in-person exchanges of views.
Wang said Japanese politicians, including young parliamentarians, are welcome to visit China frequently, the ministry said.
Only a handful of Japanese lawmakers have visited China since Beijing lifted COVID travel curbs in early 2023.
By contrast, a number of parliamentary delegations have traveled to Taiwan, including 31 Diet members who attended the May 20 inauguration ceremony of President Lai Ching-te. It was one of the largest delegations from Tokyo to have attended such an event there.
Wang also called for Moriyama's cooperation in resolving a bilateral dispute over Japan's release of the treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began in August last year, prompting China to impose a total import ban on Japanese seafood, the senior LDP member said.
Wang pointed out that the top priority is to establish a long-term international monitoring mechanism to ensure the full and effective participation of China and other stakeholders, the ministry said.
On Monday, Moriyama agreed with Liu Jianchao, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, to work toward restarting regular talks between the two countries' ruling parties at an early date, possibly later this year.
The last such talks were held in Japan in October 2018.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing opposes official interaction between Taiwan and countries with diplomatic relations with the mainland.
