"To consolidate the Japan-China relations conforms to the world trend," Yosuke Nakae, former director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asia bureau, said in a recent interview with Xinhua ahead of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978.
Nakae was one of the insiders in the process which produced the historical treaty.
Quoting then Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, Nakae said the treaty helped upgrade Japan-China relations to an "iron bridge" from a "hanging bridge" when the two countries just formed diplomatic relations.
Fukuda and then Japanese Foreign Minister Sunao Sonoda were the two most important Japanese politicians in the negotiation for the treaty and their enthusiastic attitude and persistent efforts contributed much to the success of the negotiation, Nakae said.
"The prime minister was very active (about signing the treaty).He tried to know more and raised all kinds of questions. I thus believed we could sign a treaty," Nakae said.
"Sonoda was interested in China when he was young. He thought highly of Japan-China relations and made up his mind to sign such a treaty in his term after becoming foreign minister," he added.
In July 1978, negotiations between China and Japan entered a crucial stage, and the two sides held many rounds of talks. Nakae also went to Beijing and participated in this process.
Nakae returned to Japan on August 5 to brief Prime Minister Fukuda on the latest development.
To Nakae's surprise, the prime minister began to ask about Sonoda's plan to visit China even before Nakae finished his report.
"Prime Minister Fukuda has followed the situation himself. He already asked about Foreign Minister Sonoda's visit to China because he knew the negotiation was to succeed," Nakae said.
Nakae said he visited Biyunsi Temple in Beijing's western suburb during his China tour accompanying Sonoda from Aug. 8, and saw a poem of Sun Yat-sen there which reads "Those who conform with the world trend thrive, and those who go against it perish."
"I thought the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship was also in line with the world trend and recommended that Foreign Minister Sonoda quote the poem in his speech at the banquet celebrating the treaty on Aug. 12," Nakae said. "I was very excited by Foreign Minister Sonoda's acceptance of my suggestion though nobody knew the story."
Nakae said the treaty was not only a significant document for Japan and China, because "its anti-hegemonism article played an important role in the development of the world structure."
On the future of Japan-China relations, Nakae said the two governments should always bear in mind that their diplomatic ties were forged by reflecting on war so as to maintain friendship and peaceful co-existence in Asia, which conforms with the trend in today's world.
"Only with such an attitude can Japan-China friendship last from generation to generation," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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