A well-known unofficial political intermediary between Japan and China has passed away, just days prior to an alleged scheduled visit aimed at reducing significant bilateral disputes.
Yohei Kono, widely recognized for delivering an important apology on August 4, 1993, to hundreds of thousands of "comfort women" who had been compelled by the Japanese army into sex slavery throughout World War II, passed away on Monday. He was 89 years old.
Regarded as a moderate figure inside Japan's conservative governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kono served as the nation's top cabinet minister when he issued what became known as the "Kono Statement." Later, he took charge of the LDP and also held the position of speaker in the Japanese House of Representatives.
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During his entire political life and also during his time out of office, he promoted a consistent connection with China while firmly supporting Japan's peaceful constitution.
From 2006 up until his passing, Kono held the position of chairperson at the Japan Association for the Advancement of International Commerce, one of Japan's leading economic groups focused on enhancing commercial and financial relationships, especially with China.
It was reported that Kono intended to head a business group to Beijing for the China International Supply Chain Exhibition scheduled for later this month.
A journey mentioned by Kyodo News in April was considered possibly leading toward a political resolution between Tokyo and Beijing after several months of conflict.
Bilateral relations dropped sharply following the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi informed Japan's legislature in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked.
The proposal angered Beijing, which considers Taiwan an integral part of China that should be reunified through force if required.
Many nations, such as the United States and Japan, do not consider Taiwan a sovereign country, yet Washington opposes any effort to seize the autonomous region through military means and remains dedicated to providing it with arms. .
On his latest trip to Beijing in June of last year, Kono met with the Chinese Prime Minister. Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi .
On Thursday, Lin Jian, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, referred to the former Japanese foreign minister as "a long-standing friend of the Chinese people" who has "maintained an accurate perspective on history."
In 1995, following Kono's significant declaration two years earlier, former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama officially recognized Japan's past military expansion and colonial administration.
This was the most explicit apology offered by the Japanese government. Murayama passed away last year at the age of 101.
As per Lin, Kono's declaration "still has a beneficial impact today."
The spokesperson also commended Kono for his significant role in advancing interactions and collaboration between China and Japan.
Tetsuro Homma, head of the Japanese Business Association in China, stated that Kono has been instrumental in connecting Japan and China, particularly during times of tense relations.
According to Homma, during his meeting with the Chinese prime minister last year, Kono expressed worries from Japanese companies about Beijing's increased regulation of key minerals and lengthy authorization processes.
"Eventually, the approval procedure for the applicable requests sped up considerably the next month, resuming a steady and typical rate," Homma stated on Thursday.
Certainly, we do not have conclusive evidence that this was directly caused by Mr. Yohei Kano's statements. However, this is the situation that exists, and for that, we are sincerely thankful.
Homma mentioned that Japanese firms operating in China have kept up "very active" dialogue with regional officials.
Growing worries suggest that the political coldness might extend into other domains, such as cultural and personal interactions.
Following the outbreak of the diplomatic conflict in November, Beijing has released multiple travel alerts advising residents not to go to Japan, leading to hundreds of thousands of trip cancellations.
In the meantime, China has put aside youth exchange programs with Japan, a situation that Homma described as concerning.
Although Japanese student organizations kept visiting China, setting up exchange programs with Chinese universities had become "extremely challenging," he stated via a translator.
In order to close this gap and provide these visiting students with conversation partners, our affiliated companies under the Japanese Chamber of Commerce have taken action to jointly assume the role of host.
Following Takaichi's controversial statements, Beijing halted all seafood imports from Japan, and in January, it imposed restrictions on exports of dual-use items, including the rare earth elements meant for use by the Japanese military.
In February, China's Ministry of Commerce stated that 40 Japanese firms had been placed under export restrictions , referencing issues of national security.
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