Former Japanese Ambassador Gives Accounts of Japan-China Diplomatic Tensions

Japan Coast Guard vessel PS206 Houou sails in front of Uotsuri island, one of the disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea on Aug. 18, 2013. Ruairidh Villar/Reuters

An interview with former Japanese diplomat Hideo Tarumi has given insights into Tokoyo’s diplomacy with Beijing.

Mr. Tarumi—Japan’s ambassador to China from November 2020 to December 2023—spoke with Japanese media, Sankei Shimbun, on Feb. 18.

He told the publication about the diplomatic games between Japan and China, including Beijing’s wolf warrior diplomacy and appeasement by the Japanese government led by Naoto Kan, who was prime minister from 2010 to 2011.

Mr. Tarumi spoke of an incident that occurred in 2010 when he was director of the China-Mongolia Division at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Sept. 27 of that year, a Chinese fishing vessel entered Japanese waters around the contested Senkaku Islands and rammed into Japanese Coast Guard vessels.

The Japanese Coast Guard detained and investigated the Chinese fishing boat and its crew for suspected obstruction of official duties.

Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the islands, summoned Japan’s then ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa twice to protest the detainion and demand the immediate release of the detained captain.

Japan released all crew members except the captain and returned the fishing boat to the Chinese. Japanese authorities decided to file a lawsuit against the captain in accordance with the law.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) subsequently implemented a series of retaliatory measures, and under pressure, Japan finally released the captain on Sept. 24.

Over the incident, Mr. Tarumi claimed he was the only one in the Japanese government who insisted on not releasing the captain and handling the matter according to the law.

Bending to Beijing’s presure would result in the Japanese public losing trust in the Kan-led goevement, he said.

He said that Mr. Kan was demanding the early release of the captain.

Mr. Tarumi described a meeting on the issue summoned by Mr. Kan that was attended by then Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, and relevant personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“What is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing?” about the issue Mr. Kan was claimed to have said. “Doesn’t the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have experts on China?” Mr. Kan was alledged to have said, where upon everyone, it was claimed in the Sankei Shimbun report, looked at Mr. Tarumi.

Mr. Kan asked him, “What does [China] want to do?”

Mr. Tarumi responded, “China believes that the more pressure they put on Japan, the more Japan will compromise. In the future, China will continue to exert pressure.”

However, Mr. Kan allegedly rebuked him for talking nonsense.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (L) talks next to Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda (R), as they attend the Lower House's fiscal and monetary policies committee session at the national Diet in Tokyo on Aug. 10, 2011. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images

Xi Meets Emperor

Mr. Tarumi told Sankei Shimbun of an earlier example of the Japanese government bending to Beijing’s will that occurred in 2009 when then-Vice CCP President Xi Jinping met with Emperor Akihito of Japan.

The meeting raised controversy in Japanese society as, by convention, a meeting with the emperor requires a request to be made at least one month in advance.

However, due to strong demands from the CCP and various negotiations by Democratic Party members, the Japanese side ended up relenting.

Beijing Irked by Shinzo Abe

Mr. Tarumi spoke about a more recent incident when ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe said in a forum on Dec.1, 2021: “A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-U.S. alliance.”

This occurred when Mr. Tarumi was Japan’s ambassador to China based in Beijing.

Mr. Tarumi told Japanese magazine bunshun.jp, that the CCP was extremely annoyed upon learning of Mr. Abe’s statement.

On the evening of Dec. 1, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Mr. Tarumi to protest Mr. Abe’s statement, saying that the remarks were supporting “Taiwan independence” forces, and Japan had no right to comment on Taiwan-related issues.

Since assuming the position of ambassador to China in mid-2020, Mr. Tarumi had sought to meet with Wu Jianghao, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China responsible for Asia-Pacific affairs, but Chinese authorities had been reluctant to arrange it.

However, following Mr. Abe’s remarks, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately requested a meeting with Mr. Tarumi.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Rome, Italy, on April 24, 2019. Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images

Initially, Mr. Tarumi instructed his subordinates to “ignore” the request, but the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened, “If you don’t come, we will refuse all future meetings with the ambassador.”

Not impressed by the pressure applied, Mr. Tarumi said he deliberately waited for an hour after dinner before going to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Wu was reportedly on a business trip, so the meeting that night was conducted by his deputy, Hua Chunying, who was known as a “wolf warrior diplomat.”

As soon as Mr. Tarumi sat down, Ms. Hua began reading a lengthy protest statement, which Mr. Tarumi silently listened to for about 30 minutes.

Afterwards, Mr. Tarumi congratulated Ms. Hua on her promotion to deputy minister. Ms. Hua was reportdely somewhat embarrassed by the complement before saying that although in such situation, she still appreciated the congratulation.

It is diplomatic etiquette that even in the case of protests, the involved parties start with greetings and small talk.

“When I requested a meeting, you always avoided it, but when you wanted to see me, you demanded my immediate presence. Is this your country’s etiquette?” Mr. Tarumi asked Ms. Hua. “I used to think that China was a land of etiquette; Today, I clearly realize that my understanding was incorrect.”

After that, Mr. Tarumi began to refute Ms. Hua’s remarks: Firstly, although Mr. Abe was a former prime minister, he had already left the government, so the Japanese government had no authority to explain his remarks.

Secondly, the viewpoint that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency” is an understanding of the reality within Japan.

Mr. Tarumi said that Ms. Hua’s subordinates were frantically taking notes of his words.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying speaks during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing on Sept. 1, 2020. Andy Wong/AP Photo

‘Frankenstein of China’

During the Sankei Shimbun interview, Mr. Tarumi also revealed how the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs would say one thing and do another.

On the day of the meeting about Mr. Abe’s comments, he asked relevant personnel from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Will China publicize the matter of summoning me?”

The other party said, “It’s confirmed that it will not be made public.”

However, at 1 a.m., Mr. Tarumi’s colleagues called to say that Xinhua News Agency had already released the news of the meeting.

Mr. Tarumi therefore ordered his subordinates to immediately prepare for a rebuttal by the next morning.

The former Japanese ambassador recalled that the incident set a precedent that every time a Japanese ambassador to China was summoned by the CCP for protest, the Japanese embassy would issue a rebuttal report.

“It is a problem in itself for China to make statements unilaterally,” he said. “In short, I felt deceived at that time.”

Looking back at the history of establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and China, Mr. Tarumi said, “In the context of those times, [I] worked very hard on diplomacy with China. There may be some who doubt whether it was the right thing to do. However, judging by today’s standards, it was unfair [in terms of Japan-China relations].”

“This inevitably raises the question of whether the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China in 1972 was in itself appropriate. It might be argued that it was Japan’s official development assistance to China that created the Frankenstein of China.”