Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

REPORTER: In the speech made by President Xi Jinping of China, there were relatively few references to Japan. What is the Government’s opinion on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, the Government of Japan believes that on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, rather than overly focusing on the misfortunes of the past, it is important to adopt an attitude of tackling the shared issues facing the international community in a future-oriented manner. We also observed the ceremony closely based on this perspective. There is also a history of Japan-China friendship that has existed since the normalization of diplomatic relations, and I believe there have been improvements in Japan-China relations with the two summit meetings held between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping. With that in mind, the Government conveyed to the Chinese side that we wanted this event to include an element of reconciliation between Japan and China, rather than so-called anti-Japanese sentiment. However, no such elements were detectable in President Xi’s speech. This is extremely regrettable.

REPORTER: In the speech, President Xi announced that the armed forces of China are to be cut by 300,000. Can I ask for the thoughts of the Government on this announcement?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government of Japan has always called strongly for improvements in transparency concerning China’s military capabilities. From such a perspective, the Government hopes that the reduction in personnel numbers of the People’s Liberation Army of China as recently announced will be advanced with a high degree of transparency.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the military parade in China. Does the Government intend to lodge a protest concerning his attendance?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan has always advocated that the United Nations, an organization with over 190 member states, should be a neutral organization that does not to seek to unnecessarily focus on particular events in the past relating to member states, but rather adopts a future-oriented stance that seeks to promote harmony and development in the international community, including freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. In that sense, it is extremely regrettable that the Secretary-General of the United Nations attended the parade. The Government has already strongly expressed the opinion I have just described to the United Nations, namely that the organization should take a neutral stance.

(Abridged)