A Japanese diplomat has called on Tokyo to promote practical cooperation with China and South Korea to reap benefits even though Japan is at odds with the two East Asian neighbors over history and other issues.
In an interview with Jiji Press, Hisashi Michigami, secretary-general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, also stressed that Japan should actively use the three countries’ cooperation frameworks.
The TCS, which was established in 2011, works to facilitate cooperation among the three countries by offering support for ministerial talks, as well as business and cultural exchanges, among Japan, China and South Korea. The top TCS post of secretary-general has been rotated among the three countries.
The TCS has been increasingly able to make “substantive contributions” to the trilateral cooperation in the last five years, said Michigami, who has served as minister at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and then at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
The TCS is not well known in Japan, but there are as many as 21 ministerial forums among Japan, China and South Korea, with active interchanges being made to accelerate the three countries’ cooperation, he said.
