Thursday, April 1, 2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Apr. 1 , 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)


Koji Tomita is likely to be Japan’s next ambassador to the United States.
Japan’s next U.S. ambassador chosen for ties with Democrats

Date published on December 8, 2020
Koji Tomita, currently ambassador to South Korea, is tapped to become Japan's next envoy to the United States because of his close ties to the incoming Biden administration, government sources said.

Tomita held senior Foreign Ministry posts when Joe Biden was vice president under President Barack Obama and formed a strong network of contacts with U.S. Democrats.

He will replace the current ambassador, Shinsuke Sugiyama, 67, roughly coinciding with the president-elect’s inauguration in January, the sources said. Tomita, 63, is expected to assume the post by the end of January.     quoted from


New Japan envoy hopes to build "solid" ties with Biden administration

Date published on Jan. 20, 2021
New Japanese Ambassador to the United States Koji Tomita said Friday that he will seek to establish a "solid" relationship with the administration of President Joe Biden and coordinate the two countries' policies on China, North Korea and other issues.

"My immediate task is....to build relationship (with the new administration), including fostering a common awareness on various policy directions," Tomita said at his first press conference with Japanese media as successor to Shinsuke Sugiyama. It was held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Tomita said managing the security alliance is also a key part of his job, while noting that the Biden administration, which was launched on Jan. 20, has already offered reassuring signs to Tokyo by affirming the U.S. defense commitment over the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Tokyo and Washington reached an agreement this week over Japan's costs of hosting U.S. military troops in the country that Tomita said was a sign of the "soundness" of the alliance.     continue to read


No gimmicks needed: The Biden doctrine and US-Japan relations

Apr. 1 - ...​U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said China represents “America’s biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.” So, where is China on Japan’s strategic dashboard of concerns? “China is always a very big presence … the second largest economy with a population of 1.4 billion people,” Tomita said, and “it is in everyone’s interest to have stable relations with China.” But, he continued, “we have to be honest with our Chinese friends [about] certain aspects of their behavior — trade practices, human rights situation with Uyghurs and Hong Kong — and, from a Japanese perspective, it is particularly troubling to see the pattern of their maritime behavior which, in our eyes, amounts to unilateral attempts to change the status quo.”

  
Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken took some of that conversation — about cyber espionage, human rights violations, predatory trade behavior, aggressiveness in the South China Sea and around the Senkaku Islands — to their Chinese counterparts during a recent meeting in Alaska. Their testy exchange followed the first "Quad" meeting between leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, highlighting the importance of a “free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.” Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Suga, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-wrote an opinion piece afterward, addressing collective global challenges like the pandemic, climate change, regional security and self-determination, without mentioning China. But everyone knows their virtual meeting was driven by shared concerns about China.

Tomita emphasized repeatedly during our conversation that the Biden administration “is very focused on the Indo-Pacific region, for a number of reasons. And Prime Minister Suga is incredibly committed to the task of strengthening further the Japan-U.S. alliance. And also working together with the U.S. for the free and open Indo-Pacific region.” For several reasons, yes, but mostly China....     quoted from
中国国防部提醒日方停止挑衅 美日狼狈为奸损人不利己 20210331 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
​Apr 1, 2021
Japan and US' attack of Chinese Coast Guard Law is for misleading public

Apr. 1 - Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi recently held talks with the visiting Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, during which he expressed grave concerns over China’s Coast Guard Law again, reported Kyodo News.


Since the Chinese Coast Guard Law came into effect on February 1, the response from the US and Japan has been not only intense but also unusual. Japan has expressed its “grave concerns” over the law for nearly ten times on bilateral or multilateral occasions. But all the caw and clamor cannot hide the two countries’ real intention of deliberately misleading the public opinions and international community.

​Washington and Tokyo’s criticisms of China’s Coast Guard Law focus on the unclear demarcation of sea areas within the jurisdiction, permission for the coast guard to use weapons and to take enforcement measures against foreign ships, and the “quasi-military nature” of the coast guard. But these criticisms are nothing but overreaction or even double standards both from the perspective of the international law, the similar laws in Japan and US, and the maritime enforcement practices.     continue to read

Minister of Foreign Affairs Summons Japanese Ambassador to ROK Koji Tomita​

1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha summoned Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Korea Koji Tomita on the afternoon of March 6, and expressed deep regret over the Japanese government’s stronger entry restrictions on Korean nationals and strongly urged a prompt withdrawal of the unjust measure.

2. Minister Kang stressed that the ROK government is making progress in stopping the spread of COVID-19 through its outstanding diagnostic capabilities and transparent and robust quarantine system, and pointed out that it is very inappropriate for the Japanese government to take such measure at this point.

In particular, Minister Kang said that objective statistics, including the cumulative number of diagnostic tests conducted in the ROK and the ratio of the ROK’s population to the number of tests, clearly show the ROK’s proactive and preemptive quarantine capabilities and efforts, and added that it is rather the ROK government which is watching Japan’s response to COVID-19 with concern.

3. In addition, Minister Kang mentioned that it is all the more regretful that the Japanese government has enforced the measure without prior notification despite the ROK government’s repeated calls to refrain from taking additional measure. Saying that such measure is unfavorable and unscientific, the Minister urged the Japanese government once again to squarely face objective facts and situations and promptly withdraw the measure.

4. Minister Kang went on to say that if the Japanese government does not withdraw its measure, the ROK government cannot but consider necessary countermeasures, including those based on the principle of reciprocity.     source quoted from

Next 2nd Briefing Session on ROK Government’s Response to COVID-19 Held for Diplomatic Corps in ROK

Prev Outcome of Telephone Conversation between Foreign Ministers of ROK and Thailand (Mar. 5)

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