Source: Global Times
[ Global Times reporter Cheng Kai] Japan held a special parliament on the afternoon of the 10th. The ruling party Liberal Democratic Party President Kishida Fumio was elected the 101st Prime Minister of Japan in the election designated by the Prime Minister of the House of Representatives, and announced the list of new cabinets. Except for the ministers who were changed to Lin Fangzheng, other cabinet officials remained. Some analysts said that Lin Fangzheng served as the new foreign minister in , highlighting the Kishida government's intention to promote stable diplomacy with China.
Lin Fang’s data picture
According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 10th, Lin Fang, 60, is from a political family, graduated from the Department of Law of the University of Tokyo, and has a master’s degree from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government . Since 2008, he has served as Minister of Defense, Minister of Economics and Finance, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Minister of Science and Technology of , and other positions. In 2012, he participated in the election for the president of the Liberal Democratic Party and lost to Shinzo Abe . In Japanese politics, Lin Fangzheng has long been shown as a "Knowing Chinese School" and is the president of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentary League. His father, Natsuro, was once the Minister of Tripitaka (equivalent to the "Caissian Minister") and the president of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentary League, and has led delegations to visit China many times. In addition, Lin Fang is a widely-connected political circle in the United States. When she was young, she worked for U.S. lawmakers and participated in legislation, so she became familiar with American politics. Japan's NHK TV said that Kishida Fumio wants to use the extensive connections between Lin Fangmasato and his son to improve and promote Japan-China relations, while further consolidating the Japan-US alliance.
Cai Liang, secretary-general of the Sino-Japanese Relations Research Center of Shanghai Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times reporter on the 10th that Lin Fang is the "second leader" of the Inner Kishida faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. Kishida's appointment of Lin Fangzheng as foreign minister is not only due to Lin's faction, but also because Kishida's hopes to promote stable diplomacy by enabling trustworthy people. Because Lin Fang is one of the few "Chinese-Knowing factions" in Japanese politics and has rich connections in China. Therefore, it is expected that Lin Fang is dealing with diplomacy with China and may adopt a "dual-track" parallel approach, namely formal official diplomatic channels and informal private channels, which will help China and Japan to communicate effectively on differences and frictions.
Although " Zhihuapai " is Lin Fangzheng's most important business card, he seems to intend to downplay his Chinese color. According to the report of " Nikkei Shimbun " on the 8th, Lin Fang said on a TV program that day, "Just like the word "Knowing Japanese faction" in the United States, it is okay to say that I am a 'Knowing Chinese faction'. But I am not a 'College of China'." Regarding the voices in the Liberal Democratic Party calling it a "pro-China faction" and opposing the appointment of it as a foreign minister, Lin Fang responded, "In the negotiation process, it is better to fully understand the other party than not." In addition, Lin Fang also talked about China's Xinjiang policy on the show, claiming that "this is a serious concern no matter how you think."
Cai Liang believes that although Lin Fangzheng is a politician of the "Chinese-Knowing School", this does not mean that the Japanese government's China policy will undergo fundamental changes. Lin Fangzheng has little room for foreign policy, because it will still depend on the Prime Minister. As an ally of the United States, in the context of no fundamental change in the strategic game between China and the United States, Japan's diplomacy with China is unlikely to undergo too much adjustment. It is expected that Japan will continue to actively cooperate with the United States' strategic deployment in the Asia-Pacific region.
