(Bloomberg) -- Japan's top government spokesman said it's important to have frank discussions with China about Hong Kong and other contentious issues as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to host President Xi Jinping for a state visit next spring.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday there was no change to the Abe government's deep concern about Hong Kong, which he said was an important economic partner for Japan. Suga added Japan would continue to raise the Hong Kong issue, along with other matters, ahead of Xi's visit as it watches with concern the issue of human rights among the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic group in China.
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His comments came about a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Abe and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo.
A state visit by Xi, an idea which has met with some criticism in Japan, would crown Abe's drive to restore a relationship between the two largest economies in Asia that was in a deep freeze when he took office in 2012. The task is complicated by a territorial dispute and prickly ties between China and the U.S., Japan's only treaty ally.
--With assistance from Takashi Hirokawa.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Muneeza Naqvi
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