Japan should pursue balanced diplomacy regarding China: media

This photo taken on Dec. 19, 2022 shows a view of the Tokyo Tower at sunset in Tokyo, Japan. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Japan should "pave the way to coexisting with China" instead of focusing only on strengthening its deterrence against China, said Yoshihide Soeya, a professor emeritus of political science at Keio University.

TOKYO, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Japan should move past a hawkish foreign policy platform and pursue a well-balanced diplomatic strategy toward Beijing to avoid needless conflict, the Japan Times has said in an article.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should pursue a well-balanced diplomatic strategy toward Beijing as a fellow Asian nation, distancing Japan from the United States and its attempts to isolate China economically through an array of high-tech restrictions, said the newspaper, citing experts.

Yoshihide Soeya, a professor emeritus of political science at Keio University, said Japan should "pave the way to coexisting with China" instead of focusing only on strengthening its deterrence against China.

Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, said that "there are good chances" of "improving bilateral communication on a range of issues such as supply chain resilience, nontraditional threats to security and climate change."

Since Year 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, the Kishida government had some incentive to cooperate with Chinese leaders to prevent bilateral ties from deteriorating, according to the article.