Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa Prefecture visited China for the first time in four years as a member of the Japan International Trade Promotion Association, chaired by former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yohei Kono. As a result of the visit by Governor Tamaki, who is known as a pro-China advocate, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been making extremely disturbing moves.
The story goes back about a month ago, when the June 4 edition of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, reported that on June 1, Xi Jinping visited the National Archives of China (Beijing), which collects and displays ancient Chinese documents. The front page of the paper reported that Xi Jinping, who was given an explanation of what appeared to be ancient documents showing that the Senkaku Islands, over which China has territorial claims, belonged to China, said the following: “(I am) the first person to visit the Senkaku Islands in Fuzhou City (Beijing).
When (I was) working in Fuzhou (in Fujian Province), I knew that the Ryukyuan pavilion and Ryukyuan tombs were there and that the roots of exchange between (China and) the Ryukyu Islands were deep.”
Needless to say, Ryukyu refers to the former Okinawa. Therefore, there was a secret speculation in Japan that Xi Jinping, seeing Governor Tamaki’s visit to China as an opportunity, might finally start asserting his territorial rights over Okinawa, using the same argument he used in the case of the Senkaku Islands.
An international political scientist familiar with the inner workings of the Xi Jinping administration revealed the following.
Before his visit to China, Governor Tamaki had expressed his view that Xi’s remarks about the Ryukyus “were taken as an expression of his desire to develop future exchanges between Japan and China. Also, when asked at the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, ‘How would you respond if Xi Jinping told you that the Senkakus have been China’s territory for a long time? It is also necessary not to give an immediate answer.
Kono, who headed the delegation that visited China this time, is also known as a pro-China person.
In short, Xi Jinping has been watching our footsteps. Many experts have warned that China is seriously targeting Okinawa, not just the Senkaku Islands. Furthermore, Xi Jinping has cut a new ‘card against Japan’ this time with the threat that ‘if Japan interferes with the annexation of Taiwan, China will not hesitate to invade Okinawa.
Asagei
