Chronologies
Japan - China
Chronology from Sep 2015 to Dec 2015
: Abe Akie, wife of PM Abe, visits Yasukuni Shrine.
: PLAN intelligence-gathering ship operates in international waters of Japan’s Boso Peninsula.
: Kyodo News Service reports that China in 2016 will replace Japan as the second largest contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget.
: LDP’s panel dedicated to the study of history holds first meeting.
: Japan-China-ROK director general talks on the trilateral free trade agreement are held in Japan.
: Nanjing marks anniversary of Nanjing Massacre; neither President Xi or Premier Li attend ceremonies.
: Japanese and Chinese vice minsters meet in Beijing to advance the spring 2016 Japan-China ministerial-level economic dialogue.
: Foreign Minister Kishida in Tokyo address raises issues related to China’s activities in the South China Sea.
: Japanese and Chinese officials meet in Amoy to discuss South China Sea issues and implementation of maritime communication mechanism.
: Nanjing’s War History Museum opens new exhibition in advance of Dec. 13 anniversary of Nanjing Massacre.
: LDP Secretary General Tanigaki Sadakazu and Komeito Secretary General Inoue Yoshihisa meet Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee in Beijing.
: PM Abe and President Xi meet for brief conversation while in France.
: Japan-China Energy Forum held in Tokyo; government and private sector participants agree to promote 26 projects.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense postpones plans to deploy 500 GSDF troops to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa until next five-year defense build-up plan (FY2019-2023).
: PM Abe and Premier Li meet for brief conversation during East Asian Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
: PM Abe attends G20 Summit in Turkey; raises issues related to South China Sea with German, Australian, British leaders and with European Commission president.
: Top Japanese and Chinese business executives meet in Tokyo.
: China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says that land-reclamation projects in the South China Sea are taking place within the area of China’s sovereignty.
: PM Abe tells Upper House Budget Committee that he wants to keep options open and fully deliberate regarding issues related to the South China Sea.
: Foreign Minister Kishida tells NHK audience that issues related to the South China Sea are matters of legitimate concern to Japan.
: President Xi in speech delivered in Singapore asserts that historically islands in the South China Sea were part of China.
: PM Abe welcomes first 99 Chinese students participating in the Japan-China youth exchange program established in May.
: Foreign Minister Kishida at ASEM meeting in Luxemburg calls attention to unilateral efforts to change the status quo in the South China Sea.
: Premier Li meets delegation of Japanese business executives.
: Minister of Defense Nakatani and Chinese counterpart Wang meet in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the ADDM Plus to discuss South China Sea issues and early implementation of maritime communication mechanism.
: PM Abe and Premier Li meet in Seoul.
: Premier Li, PM Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye hold a trilateral summit in Seoul, the first such meeting since 2012.
: Permanent Court of Arbitration accepts Philippines’ submission on the South China Sea; Beijing rejects any decision as null and void.
: Curator of Nanjing War museum asks Miyazaki Prefecture for return of three cornerstones taken from Nanjing by the Imperial Army.
: China’s ambassador to the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament raises concerns with regard to Japan’s growing stockpile of fissile material.
: President Xi in dinner remarks in London recalls Japan’s wartime atrocities.
: Supra-party delegation of 70 Diet members visits the Yasukuni Shrine.
: Chief Cabiniet Secretary Suga announces that PM Abe has made an offering in his private capacity to the Yasukuni shrine during the autumn festival.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense releases data on scrambles against Chinese aircraft for first six months of Japan’s April-September fiscal year.
: Former DPJ Foreign Minister Maehara Seiji in remarks in Beijing calls on China to assume responsibilities of a great power.
: Komeito leader Yamaguchi Natsuo, at invitation of CCP, attends conference in Beijing and meets President Xi Jingping.
: State Councilor Yang meets with PM Abe at the Kantei.
: Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Head of the Japanese National Security Council Yachi Shotaro co-chair the second China-Japan high-level political dialogue in Tokyo.
: UNESCO adds new documents to the Memory of the World Register, including, at China’s request, documents related to the Nanjing Massacre.
: LDP General Council Chairman Nikai raises possibility of Japan stopping financial contributions to UNESCO in the event UNESCO acts to add documents relating to the Nanjing Massacre to the Memory of the World Register
: Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary General Edano Yukio meets Taiwan’s Tsai ing-wen, Democratic Progressive Party candidate for president of Taiwan.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga announces Chinese detention of Japanese nationals on charges of spying.
: Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua hosts reception marking 66th anniversary of the founding of the PRC; extols China-Japan friendship and cooperation as in the interests of both peoples; does not refer to Diaoyu/Senkaku issues in his remarks.
: Japanese Diet passes legislation that reinterprets self-defense and gives the government the authority to send Self-Defense Forces overseas to defend allies, even if Japan itself is not under attack. China criticizes the legislation as destabilizing to regional security.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga expresses concern over China’s unilateral development of natural gas fields in the East China Sea.
: PM Abe after meeting with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Trong expresses concerns with China’s land reclamation project in the South China Sea.
: Chinese Adm. Yuan Yubai tells London conference that South China Sea belongs to China.
: PM Abe reelected Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president in uncontested leadership contest.
: Japanese and ASEAN vice-minsters of defense meet in Sapporo; they agree on importance of freedom of maritime and air navigation.
: Finance Minister Aso Taro at meeting of G20 finance ministers says Chinese response to Shanghai stock market fluctuations shows that China “is not a normal country.”
: China marks 70th anniversary of the end of the war against Japan with victory parade in Beijing.
: Japan Self-Defense Force participates in joint exercise with US military off the coast of California.