Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from May 2011 to Aug 2011
: Noda Yoshihiko is confirmed in the Diet as Japan’s sixth new prime minister in five years, replacing outgoing Kan Naoto who resigned on Aug. 26.
: Noda Yoshihiko is elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
: Kan Naoto resigns as prime minister.
: Japan’s National Police Agency alleges that 90 percent of the July 10 attacks on the Agency’s website originated from China and that Beijing has been asked to investigate.
: Foreign Minster Matsumoto Takeaki calls in Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua to protest activities of Chinese Maritime Enforcement Agency.
: Japan and China agree on joint program to prevent illegal logging.
: Directors of the Lower House Administration Oversight Committee meet to consider asking the government to approve on-site inspection of the Senkakus.
: Kyodo News reports that Chinese prize-winning motion picture on the Nanjing Massacre will be shown in Tokyo.
: JETRO announces that Japan-China trade for January-June 2011 grew at rate of 17.9 percent over 2010 to $163.15 billion, a new record for the period.
: Japan’s Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa visits Tibet.
: Finance Minister Noda Yoshihiko tells reporters Class A war criminals are not in fact war criminals.
: Prime Minister Kan and Cabinet for second consecutive year do not pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine. Kan attends ceremonies for the war dead at Chidorigafuchi cemetery.
: Exhibition panel dedicated to comfort women opens in Beijing’s Memorial Hall of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japan; the section was developed by Japanese civic associations and scholars who supplied approximately 500 documents and photographs.
: Defense Minister Kitazawa question’s necessity of China’s aircraft carrier.
: Genron NPO and China Times release annual joint public opinion survey; results show continued deterioration in Japanese views of China and Chinese views of Japan.
: Japanese Coast Guard releases new footage of September 2010 Senkaku incident; shows several fishing boats, including one that appears to attempt to cut off pursuit by Coast Guard ships.
: China’s aircraft carrier Varyag undergoes its first sea trials.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano says that in the event of aggression by another country on the Senkakus, Japan will exercise the right of self-defense to repel invaders.
: Japan announces relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese tourists.
: Director General for Asian and Oceanic Affairs Sugiyama visits Beijing for discussions on resumption of Six-Party Talks.
: Chinese fisheries patrol ships enter Japanese territorial waters in Senkaku Islands.
: Stone monument in Heilongjiang dedicated to Japanese settlers of Manchuria is defaced by activists related to China Federation for Defending the Daioyu Islands.
: 400 Japanese high school students from Iwate, Miyage, and Fukushima Prefectures arrive in China at invitation of the Chinese government; the visit is part of student exchange program marking 40 anniversary of normalization.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense issues its 2011 Defense White Paper.
: Lt. Gen. Ma and Administrative Vice Minister of Defense Nakae hold ninth Bilateral Vice-Ministerial Defense and Security Dialogue.
: PLA Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian visits Japan; meets Minister of Defense Kitazawa and Chief of the Joint Staff Oriki Ryoichi.
: Kan government announces a slight reduction in China Official Development Assistance (ODA) program.
: Yomiuri Shimbun, citing diplomatic and media sources, reports that China has initiated indigenous construction of an aircraft carrier.
: Japanese and Chinese parliamentarians resume annual meeting in Tokyo.
: Xinhua reports Ministry of Defense officials express concern with Japan’s increased air and naval activities in the East China Sea.
: Mid-term report of the Ministry of Defense Study Group on Japan’s Defense Industry and Technological Base recommends reconsideration of the three principles governing Japan’s arms exports.
: Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers meet in Beijing.
: Japanese Coast Guard ships confirm Chinese fishing boat is operating in Japan’s contiguous zone in the Senkaku Islands.
: Prime Minister Kan attends war memorial service on Okinawa; president of Okinawa Bereaved Families Association encourages Kan to pay homage at Yasakuni Shrine and pray for external peace.
: Japan’s Director General for Asian and Oceanic Affairs Sugiyama Shinsuke visits Beijing for consultation regarding the Six-Party Talks.
: Okinawa citizens’ independent judicial panel recommends indictment of Chinese fishing boat captain involved in the Senkaku incident for damaging Japanese Coast Guard ships; Naha prosecutors last year decided not to indict, citing diplomatic reasons.
: Foreign Minister Matsumoto Takeaki and Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano report that a Chinese research ship transited Japan’s EEZ without prior notification; government protests on June 23.
: Japan’s Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office opens exhibition on Sun Yat Sen and Japanese supporters of the 1911 Revolution.
: Okinawa Gov. Nakai Hiroshi calls on Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio to request strengthening of measures to protect against illegal fishing.
: Japanese government declines comment on Hong Kong interview of Chinese fishing boat captain involved in the Senkaku incident; captain alleges Japanese Coast Guard ships rammed his boat and that he suffered injuries when his ship was boarded.
: China relaxes restrictions on food imports from Japan.
: China Defense Minister Liang meets members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Beijing; they agree to advance defense dialogue.
: Japanese Foreign Ministry releases findings of annual poll of US public opinion; survey finds that China has replaced Japan as most important US partner in Asia.
: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships transit in international waters between Okinotorishima and Miyakojima for an exercise in the western Pacific.
: Defense Ministers Kitazawa Toshimi and Liang Guanglie meet on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore; agree to set up a maritime crisis management mechanism and resume exchange visits of defense officials.
: Japan-China private sector conference on green growth and environmental technology is held in Beijing.
: Dalian court sentences Japanese national to death for importing amphetamines; execution is deferred for two years.
: Delegation from China’s National Tourism Administration visits Japan.
: Japan, China, ROK tourism officials meet in South Korea.
: Japanese government approves maintenance activities on Okinotorishima in support of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims in the Senkakus.
: Japan, China, and ROK business leaders call for the conclusion of a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA.)
: Prime Minister Kan hosts Trilateral Japan, China, ROK Summit.
: Taiwan President Ma Ying-Jeou calls for strengthening of Taiwan-US-Japan ties.
: Anti-G4 conference, which is opposed to admittance of Japan, Germany, India and Brazil as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), meets in Rome. Participants include China, Italy, and the ROK.
: Prime Minister Kan Naoto hosts a meeting of the advisory panel on Japan-China relations at his official residence.
: Premier Wen Jiabao meets Keidanren delegation led by Chairman Yonekura Hiromasa; Yonekura meets Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on May 16.
: Bloomberg reports Japanese maker of Hello Kitty products, Sanrio, has agreed to partner with Chinese company to open a theme park in eastern Zhejiang.
: Taiwan dedicates a memorial park to Japanese architect Hatta Yoichi.
: Sankei Shimbun reports that the Ministry of Defense in conjunction with the new defense guidelines had considered Senkaku-related scenarios.
: Former Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio visits China and meets Vice President Xi Jinping; thanks China for assistance extended in response to the Fukushima disaster.
: China’s Vice President Xi Jinping meets delegation of Japan-China Parliamentary Union, led by former Foreign Minister Komura Masahiko in the Great Hall of the People.