Japan adopts Xinjiang resolution but sidesteps criticism of China

Feb 01, 2022 | News On Japan

Feb 01, 2022 (Nikkei) - The lower house of Japan's parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution expressing concern over Uyghur and Hong Kong human rights, just days before China opens the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The statement, however, stopped short of directly criticizing China and did not even mention the country by name. The phrase "human rights violations" in an early draft was also changed to "human rights situation" -- striking a far more cautious tone than similar resolutions from the U.S. and Europe.

"In recent years, the international community has expressed concern over the serious human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tibet, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong and other areas, including violations of religious freedom and forced imprisonment," lawmakers said. "Since human rights have universal value and are a legitimate concern of the international community, human rights issues should not be confined to the internal affairs of a single country."

The resolution is aimed at clarifying Japan's position to China before the Olympics kick off on Friday. Some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were dissatisfied with the revised wording. It was far more restrained than a resolution from the French parliament, for example, which deemed the treatment of Uyghurs "genocide."

But others emphasized the significance of the resolution itself. A previous attempt to propose one in last year's parliament session was abandoned after party members could not reach a consensus.

The Japanese lawmakers said their statement "recognizes that the change of the status quo by force, symbolized by the grave human rights situation, is a threat to the international community." They said Japan needs to demonstrate a stance that is acceptable to the world.

China, for its part, denies all accusations of human rights abuses.

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