The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Kishida, Pelosi affirm stance on Taiwan
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi con rmed during a meeting Aug. 5 that Japan and the United States will continue to work closely together to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Over breakfast at the prime minister’s o cial residence, Kishida also strongly condemned large-scale military exercises being conducted by China.
According to the Prime Minister’s O ce, the meeting with Pelosi lasted 53 minutes and was attended by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, as well as Minoru Terada and Gen Nakatani, both advisers to the prime minister.
Kishida later briefed reporters at the Prime Minister’s Of
ce about the content of the meeting.
He said he brought up the military exercises staged by China in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Regarding ballistic missiles falling into the nearby sea, including in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he told Pelosi: “is is a serious issue that concerns the security of our country and the safety of our people. We strongly condemned [it] and protested to China.”
He went on to explain that he called for the immediate suspension of the exercises, saying, “e recent actions by the Chinese side will have serious consequences for the peace and stability of the region and the international community.”
Kishida also expressed his hope for “Pelosi’s leadership and the support of the U.S. Congress” in strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance and realizing a free and open Indo-Paci c. ey also discussed North Korea, which is developing nuclear weapons and missiles, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ey also exchanged views on e orts to achieve the prime minister’s goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
e prime minister expressed his gratitude to Pelosi for her condolences regarding former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot to death in July.
e Japanese government has avoided a direct assessment of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, “[I am] not in a position to comment.” Kishida did not mention the Taiwan visit to reporters.
A er the meeting, Pelosi held a press conference at the
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. In response to the ballistic missile launch by China, she said: “e Chinese have tried to isolate Taiwan. Our friendship with Taiwan is a strong one.”
Pelosi’s visit to Japan was her rst in seven years, since May 2015. Pelosi is on a tour of Asia with a delegation of lawmakers and arrived in Japan on the evening of Aug. 4. On the a ernoon of Aug. 5, she was to observe a plenary session of
the House of Representatives and meet with House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda and others.
Matsuno said at a press conference on the morning of Aug. 5: “e stability of the relationship between the U.S. and China is extremely important for the international community. We would like to encourage China to ful ll its responsibilities as a major power based on a strong relationship of trust with the United States.” (Aug. 6)