Jul 27 (economictimes) - Earlier this year, as it became clear that the coronavirus pandemic was not going to pass quickly, the Japanese government delayed plans for what would be the first state visit by a Chinese leader to Tokyo since 2008.
Now, with Chinese military aggression rising in the region and Beijing cracking down on Hong Kong, Japan is considering canceling Xi Jinping’s visit altogether — but very gingerly.
“We are not in the phase of arranging a concrete schedule now†was how Toshimitsu Motegi, the foreign minister, put it this month.
While its top allies have taken a harder line on China — especially the United States, which dramatically escalated tensions this past week by closing the Chinese Consula ..
It has abandoned plans to purchase an American missile defence system, which in part had been considered a shield against China. And the government has continued to tiptoe around the issue of the state visit by Xi, even as polls show that most Japanese believe it should be scrapped.
