Japan-China Field Officer Exchanges to Resume Next Month, 35th Anniversary of Bilateral Medical Fellowship Program to Be Marked on July 28 (1)

The Nippon Foundation and its partner organizations are going to resume two non-government initiatives between Japan and China this summer.

At a press conference on May 30, I announced that the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation will resume visits by field officers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the Chinese Communist Party in July after a four-year suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The two countries have also agreed to hold a ceremony to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Japan-China Sasakawa Medical Fellowship at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 28, which had been postponed due to  COVID-19.

These events come in the year that marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China.

Under the military exchange program, 12 or 13 SDF field officers will visit China in July and PLA members will come to Japan in October or November.

This was agreed upon during my visit to Beijing as Chairman of The Nippon Foundation and Honorary Chair of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on May 11-12 when I conferred with senior officials of the Chinese Defense Ministry, the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, a think-tank with links to the Chinese military, and the Office for International Military Cooperation of China’s Central Military Commission.

As a result, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation intends to sign a memorandum of understanding with the China Institute for International Strategic Studies in the near future to extend the exchange program for an additional 10 years.

I told the press conference: “Given the turbulent international situation in general, relations between Japan and China are likely to become more challenging, and I consider the signing of this extension, based on an assumption of friendly relations for the long time period of 10 years, to be extremely significant.”

President Atsushi Sunami of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation noted our private-sector mission will create opportunities for building mutual understanding and trust, adding: “This resumption was not initiated by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on its own. The Chinese side, with which we have had relations for many years, said that they would like to work with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. I believe this shows that the Chinese side also considers private-sector exchanges to be important.”

Since 2001, the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation has undertaken the program of yearly exchange visits between active field officers of the JSDF and the PLA with the aim of equipping a new generation of young officers with a deeper understanding of each other’s country.

Under the project, a total of 228 Chinese officers have made 12 tours to Japan while 152 Japanese counterparts have made 13 trips to China. Mutual visits were suspended in 2012 due to the deterioration of bilateral political relations and resumed in 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a four-year interruption.

During these visits, the field officers toured the host country’s ground, marine, and air force bases; conducted studies on national defense policies; exchanged opinions with defense officials and civilians; visited businesses and agricultural villages; and traveled to historic and cultural sites in efforts to foster mutual understanding and facilitate friendships between Japanese and Chinese officers.

(To be continued)