Prime Minister Fumio Kishida received a flurry of requests, as well as professions of hope, from the ruling coalition before the first face-to-face summit between Japan and China in three years.
In addition to requests for continued constructive dialogue heard from some in the Liberal Democratic Party, conservative party members expressed concern about the rush to improve relations with China, which has increasingly moved to strengthen its hegemony.
"We expect [Kishida] to say what needs to be said and to ask China to act responsibly, while working together with China in areas where we can cooperate and promoting discussions to build a good bilateral relationship," LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said at a faction meeting on Thursday.
