Xi urges Japan to protect basis of ties in condolence message for Yasuo Fukuda
China’s president praised the former Japanese prime minister while urging Japan’s current leaders to safeguard a relationship strained by a dispute over Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent condolences to the family of former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda on October 27 and urged Japan’s current leaders to safeguard the political foundation of relations with China, according to Reuters. The message came amid a dispute over remarks by Japan’s prime minister concerning Taiwan.
Xi called on Japan’s leaders to value the efforts of earlier politicians and abide by four political documents between the countries, Reuters reported, citing China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. He described Fukuda as an old friend of the Chinese people who had shown integrity and responsibility, and said China would remember his contribution to bilateral relations and Asia’s development.
Why China-Japan relations are strained
The message was a rare direct reference by Xi to the relationship since it deteriorated late last year, Reuters reported. In November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against Taiwan also threatened Japanese territory. Beijing called her remarks ‘egregious’ and demanded that she retract them.
China has since advised its citizens against travel to Japan and banned exports to Japan of goods with potential military uses, including some rare earths, according to Reuters. Those measures show the dispute has extended beyond statements by the two governments to travel and trade.
Fukuda’s role in diplomacy with China
Fukuda died at 90. During his 2007–08 term as prime minister, he developed stable ties with China’s then-president Hu Jintao, according to an Associated Press report republished by Hindustan Times. His father, Takeo Fukuda, had also served as prime minister and worked to strengthen Tokyo’s relationship with Beijing.
After retiring from politics in 2012, Fukuda continued efforts to improve ties during a period of territorial disputes over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. AP reported that he met Xi in China in 2014, ahead of a visit by then-prime minister Shinzo Abe to meet the Chinese leader. Fukuda also led political delegations to China and other Asian countries.
In a 2022 interview with AP marking 50 years since Japan and China normalized relations, Fukuda warned that a lack of dialogue increased the risk of misunderstanding. His record of maintaining contact with Beijing gives context to Xi’s appeal to Japan’s current leaders to preserve the work of an earlier generation.
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Sources and context
- China's Xi calls on Japan to protect political foundation of tiesReuters, republished by The Straits Times
- Japan's former PM Yasuo Fukuda, proponent of ties with China, dies at 90Associated Press, republished by Hindustan Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.