Japan PM hopes to build better, comprehensive relationship with China

TOKYO: Japan hopes to build a better and comprehensive relationship with China, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday (November 26).

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“Japan has always been open to a constructive dialogue with China,” Takaichi told parliament when asked by an opposition party leader Yoshihiko Noda about recent the escalating row with Beijing.

“It is my responsibility to maximum our national interest and build an even better, comprehensive relationship (with China) through dialogue from now on,” she added.

On Tuesday (November 25) Takaichi received her first phone call from the U.S. President Donald Trump since Tokyo's leader sparked a major diplomatic bust-up with China.

According to Takaichi, Trump explained to her the recent state of U.S.-China relations, including his Monday (November 24) phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the talks.

Takaichi's off-the-cuff remark in parliament earlier this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military action prompted a furious response from Beijing that has included a boycott on travel to Japan.