Japan lawmakers to visit China in bid to cool row, but thaw unlikely: experts

Delegation Arrives in Beijing

A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers travelled to Beijing on Monday in an effort to reopen channels of communication with China, the first such parliamentary visit since bilateral ties deteriorated following remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan. According to reports from India Today, The Hindu and the South China Morning Post, the delegation includes Gaku Hashimoto of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a former health and welfare vice minister, together with one lawmaker each from the opposition Komeito and the Centrist Reform Alliance.

The group is scheduled to remain in China until Thursday and is expected to meet officials from the Chinese Communist Party’s diplomatic apparatus. Shinichi Isa, a senior spokesperson for the Centrist Reform Alliance and a former diplomat at the Japanese Embassy in China, spoke to reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport before departure. “Communication has been severed in all areas and we are beginning to see their impact in many areas,” Isa said, as quoted by India Today and The Hindu. “I hope we can somehow find a clue to restart a dialogue.”

In earlier comments on X reported by the same outlets, Isa described bilateral ties as having sunk to their worst level since relations were normalised in 1972. He noted that even during previous downturns, officials had maintained contact, but that “now all channels between officials and ministries have been cut off.” Isa added that the situation was not in the national interest of either side and that the Chinese side had accepted a Japanese request for a “window for dialogue.”

Origins of the Current Strain

The deterioration traces to comments made by Takaichi shortly after she took office. At a Lower House Budget Committee session on 7 November 2025, she stated that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that might justify the use of force. India Today, The Hindu and ThinkChina all report that the remark drew a strong reaction from Beijing. China regards Taiwan as its territory and viewed the statement as crossing a red line in its relations with other countries.

ThinkChina notes that China subsequently suspended exchanges at leadership and ministerial levels, imposed economic sanctions and other forms of pressure, and stepped up military activities around Japan while accusing Tokyo of pursuing “neo-militarism.” More than six months later, official relations have not returned to normal. Takaichi has not withdrawn the comment, though on 15 August she prayed remotely rather than visiting Yasukuni Shrine, a site that China and South Korea regard as a symbol of insufficient remorse for wartime militarism.

Expert Assessments of the Visit’s Scope

Chinese analysts have characterised the parliamentary trip as limited in ambition. Xu Weijun, an associate research professor at the Institute of Public Policy at South China University of Technology, told the South China Morning Post that the visit constitutes a “semi-official” diplomatic effort conducted through a non-core executive channel. Hashimoto, the sole identified member from the ruling party, does not sit in Takaichi’s cabinet and holds no key foreign-policy portfolio; Xu described him as holding a relatively friendly stance toward China.

Xu further observed that no public information indicated a formal mandate from Takaichi’s office, Japan’s foreign ministry or LDP leadership. “This visit is more about crisis management and does not mean that China-Japan relations are about to thaw,” he said.

Japanese academic Shin Kawashima, cited by ThinkChina, has similarly cautioned that a series of planned visits by business groups and politicians, while raising hopes of resumed exchanges, may not pave the way for broader normalisation.

Parallel Tracks of Engagement

Despite the freeze at senior official levels, limited contacts have continued. ThinkChina reports that ministerial-level exchanges linked to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and visits by Japanese parliamentarians have taken place since Takaichi’s remarks. China is scheduled to host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2026, and a visit by Takaichi is under consideration, though prospects for a full bilateral summit are widely viewed as extremely slim.

At the non-governmental level, the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade had planned a June 2026 delegation led by its president, former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono. After Kono’s death on 8 June the visit was cancelled; Hashimoto travelled in his place and met Vice-Foreign Minister Hua Chunying on 22 June. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson later expressed condolences, restated Beijing’s position on Takaichi’s “erroneous remarks,” and noted the participation of many Japanese companies in the China International Supply Chain Expo that month as evidence of the business sector’s desire for improved relations.

Further visits are under discussion. JAPIT is planning another trip in September led by former Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) hopes to send a high-level delegation within the current fiscal year after an earlier January schedule was postponed; senior Keidanren officials reportedly received a positive response during a June visit. Business organisations in the Kansai region are preparing a late-October trip to Beijing and Xi’an, while former LDP secretary-general Hiroshi Moriyama has expressed interest in arranging a visit by the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union.

Since the Foreign Ministry’s June statements, however, Chinese official bodies have not issued clear new signals, and criticism of Japan for “neo-militarism” has continued, according to ThinkChina.

Broader Context and Outlook

The parliamentary delegation’s presence in Beijing therefore forms part of a wider pattern of tentative, lower-level contacts rather than a sudden breakthrough. Japanese participants frame the trip as an attempt to arrest further damage to economic and official ties. Chinese commentators, for their part, place the initiative firmly in the category of crisis management and emphasise that fundamental disagreements over Taiwan and historical issues remain unresolved. Whether these incremental openings can evolve into sustained dialogue will depend on decisions still to be taken in both capitals in the months ahead.