Toru Hashimoto, 56, a lawyer who formerly served as governor of Osaka Prefecture and mayor of Osaka City, appeared live on Fuji Television’s “Sunday News THE PRIME” (7:30 PM, Sunday) on March 23. He challenged the Chinese viewpoint on the deteriorating Japan-China relations triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s (64) comments in the Diet. Toshiyuki Matsuyama, the station’s commentator-in-chief, asked, “ What do you think is the reason behind this strong stance toward Japan? Toshiyuki Matsuyama, the station’s commentary chairman, asked, “What do you think is the reason behind this hard-line attitude toward Japan? Ke Ryu, chief researcher at the Tokyo Foundation, who appeared as a guest on the program, said, “From the Chinese point of view, it was Prime Minister Gaoichi who picked a fight this time, first mentioning the so-called human rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang during the first summit meeting. Second, he took a commemorative photo with the Taiwanese representative, which was uploaded on SNS. There was a reaction at that time, criticizing him. And the third was his answer in the Diet. That was the second time it happened three times, and they couldn’t keep quiet any longer,” he said. He then added, “In the one-power regime of Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang’s position is very weak, so he took the liberty of making eye contact (with Premier Koichi). （If I were photographed at that moment, my position would be in serious jeopardy if I were to return to Japan. Hashimoto commented, “I have a slight objection to what Mr. Ke-taka said about Mr. Takaichi selling out the fight. I think he made a mistake when he said that the situation in the Diet was an existential crisis,” Hashimoto said. But Mr. Ishiba and all previous prime ministers have said the same thing. They all said the same thing: “We express our concern. Therefore, Mr. Takaichi was not the only one who did something special. In a sense, those who support Mr. Takaichi say that he sent out a great message, but it was not a great message at all, and he simply expressed his concern about what successive prime ministers have said. It was simply an expression of the Japanese government’s position to date. He also said that he met with the Taiwanese representatives at APEC, but since they are participating members, there is nothing wrong with meeting with them. So for me, that is not a fight,” he insisted. He then emphasized, “I think it was a mistake to make a statement about an existential crisis situation in the Diet.
