China said Wednesday it is monitoring the situation in Japan after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he will not join the upcoming ruling party presidential election, a step leading to his resignation, and is willing to stabilize bilateral ties even after his exit.
Calling Japan "an important neighbor," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement provided to Kyodo News that China does not comment on Japanese domestic politics. However, it added that Beijing is eager to promote "strategic and mutually beneficial" as well as "constructive and stable" relations with Tokyo.
On Chinese social media, many people posted comments related to a bilateral dispute over the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant that began on Aug. 24 last year, with netizens concerned about how Kishida's successor will handle it.
Some social media users criticized Kishida for the discharge of "nuclear-contaminated" water into the ocean, while others expressed hope that his successor will oppose the water release.
China has been fiercely opposed to the treated water release from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered reactor fuel meltdowns after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Immediately after the beginning of the water release, Beijing imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood products, exacerbating relations between the two Asian neighbors. Japan has urged China to lift the ban as soon as possible.
Sino-Japanese ties have been strained over several other issues as well, including Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, and Beijing's detention of Japanese nationals over espionage allegations.
Kishida met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last November in San Francisco and Premier Li Qiang in May in Seoul, confirming the two countries' policy of promoting strategic and mutually beneficial bilateral relations. But there has been little progress in improving ties.
One Chinese social media user said, "Whoever becomes the next prime minister, Japan will maintain its pro-U.S., anti-China stance."
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday that Seoul is committed to ensuring that the positive momentum in bilateral relations will continue even after the resignation of Kishida, who has worked with the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol to improve ties.
"Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan, and our government plans to use this as an opportunity to elevate bilateral relations," the official said.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said the outcome of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election in September will "not affect the existing goodwill and friendly relations" between the self-ruled democratic island and Tokyo.
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