‘ China School’ Japanese ambassador expected to push forward new consulate in Wuhan
The new Japanese Ambassador to China, Hideo Tarumi, who is one of the “China School” diplomats at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will enter the country this week via East China’s Qingdao and undergo a two- week quarantine in Beijing amid the epidemic, the Global Times has learned.
According to a source who spoke exclusively to the Global Times, Tarumi will enter China through the coastal city as direct flights to Beijing have been suspended amid the pandemic. He will then stay in quarantine in the ambassador’s residence.
The arrangement is one example of how China- Japan economic and personnel exchanges have been affected by the coronavirus. The outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province also highlighted the importance of setting up a consulate to serve Japanese nationals in Central China.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed with the Global Times on Tuesday that it is considering the establishment of a new consulate in Wuhan, and the matter is being pursued actively in the wake of the pandemic.
Setting up a consulate in Wuhan, if realized during Tarumi’s term, would be a significant achievement of the diplomat, said Da Zhigang, director and research fellow of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences. The whole process, including purchasing property and dispatching diplomats, may take at least six months, according to Da.
Despite challenges, the main theme of the bilateral relationship is cooperation, and the two countries have much common ground for cooperation, including frequent people- to- people exchanges, said Da, noting setting up a consulate in Wuhan will serve this need, and it is only one example of how the two countries have concrete areas in which to cooperate.
Da also mentioned trade ties between the two countries, which will be on the agenda of a visit to the close neighbor that started on Tuesday by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first high- level interaction since the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office.