Japanese media disclosed the inside story of Japan-China diplomacy on the 8th, pointing out that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was violently threatened by Xue Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, last year because of his speech related to "Taiwan's troubles." Japan once considered expelling Xue Jian, but instead was threatened by China, "If Japan expels one, China will expel two." In the end, Japan decided to avoid escalating the diplomatic conflict. In this regard, Akio Yaita, CEO of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank and a senior Japanese media person, pointed out that Sanae Takaichi chose to exercise restraint but did not give in on the Taiwan issue, demonstrating diplomatic resilience.
Akio Yaita posted on Facebook that Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" disclosed an inside story of Japan-China diplomatic negotiations on the 8th. On November 7 last year, Sanae Takaichi stated in the Diet that if China uses force or implements a naval blockade against Taiwan, it may constitute an "existential crisis situation" for Japan. Subsequently, Xue Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, posted a message on social media, threatening to cut off Takaichi's "dirty head."
The report pointed out that people close to Sanae Takaichi were very angry about this and considered classifying Xue Jian as "persona non grata" and deporting him. Unexpectedly, when China learned about it, it threatened, "If Japan expels one, China will expel two!" In the end, Japan decided to suspend the expulsion to avoid further escalation of the diplomatic conflict.
Regarding the "Yomiuri Shimbun" report, Akio Yaita said that he had worked in the Japanese press for many years and based on his past interview experience, he believed that the report had a high degree of credibility. He pointed out that such diplomatic insider information is usually not announced by government officials on their own initiative, but is revealed by reporters through long-term tracking and repeated verification. The Yomiuri Shimbun also has many channels for obtaining internal information from the Japanese government.
Akio Yaita further made two points. First of all, he believes that China's diplomacy seems to have changed from "making friends" to "specializing in finding people to quarrel with." He pointed out that diplomats are supposed to be committed to building friendship and resolving differences. Sometimes, in order to maintain national dignity, they have to expel diplomats from other countries. It is also quite common for the other country to take retaliatory measures, but they usually follow the principle of 1:1 reciprocity.
Akio Yaita said that if the retaliation method becomes 1:2, it would go beyond the general reciprocal retaliation model and amount to a unilateral escalation of confrontation. He criticized that this approach is not beneficial to national interests, and its only effect is to satisfy the emotions of domestic hardliners. "Diplomacy is not about who has a louder voice, nor is it about who expels more people. If diplomacy is turned into street fighting, it will only make the international community's impression of China worse and worse."
Secondly, Yaita Akio believes that Takaichi Sanae’s handling of the matter shows diplomatic resilience. He pointed out that Gao Shi might have won domestic applause if she had chosen to expel Xue Jian, but she ultimately chose to exercise restraint to avoid falling into a cycle of retaliation set by Beijing.
Yaita Akio emphasized that although Takaichi Sanae chose to exercise restraint on the expulsion of diplomats, he never retracted his original statement on the truly important Taiwan issue. This is where diplomatic wisdom lies.
Akio Yaita said, "You can give up face, but you cannot lose honour." Expelling a diplomat can only temporarily make domestic public opinion happy, but insisting on the strategic judgment that something in Taiwan involves Japan's security is related to the country's long-term interests.
Akio Yaita finally pointed out that true toughness does not mean slapping the table and saying harsh words, but knowing clearly when to exercise restraint and which principles cannot be compromised. He believes that this diplomatic turmoil highlights two completely different diplomatic thinkings.
