The following is from Ms. Sakurai Yoshiko's serialized column that marks the end of Weekly Shincho, which was released today.
This article also proves that she is a national treasure, as defined by Saicho, the supreme national treasure.
It is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but for people all over the world.
During the war in Ukraine, Japan stands up for itself.
The international community is moving so fast that it is hard to keep up.
On February 18, U.S. Secretary of State William Blinken and Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party of China's Politburo and the country's chief diplomat, met in Munich, Germany.
What stood out was the bullish stance of both sides.
Blinken urged China to stop flying spy reconnaissance balloons over U.S. soil and clarified that he is increasingly concerned that Chinese political aid to Russia will soon shift to supplying arms and ammunition for the war in Ukraine.
Immediately after the meeting, Blinken was actively engaged in media interviews, telling NBC in the U.S.
'We have more detailed information that indicates that China is strongly considering supplying deadly weapons to Russia.'
I told Wang Yi candidly that [such a thing] would seriously affect U.S.-China relations." President Biden has also told President Xi Jinping on multiple occasions."
The word "directly" is a diplomatic term meaning "sternly."
The Chinese side immediately issued a comment.
Wang Yi responded by saying that he had met with Blinken at the request of the U.S. and that he would "not take orders from the U.S. on Sino-Russian relations.
To begin with, before the foreign ministers' meeting, Wang Yi had verbally criticized the U.S. as "hysterical and ridiculous" at the Munich Security Conference.
The exchange between the foreign ministers failed to ease the tension between the two countries.
On August 20, U.S. President Biden suddenly visited Ukraine and spoke to President Zelensky.
"It was midnight in Washington and early morning in Kyiv a year ago. You called me urgently, Mr. President, and told me in an urgent voice that Russian planes were in the sky, tanks were on the border, and the land was under attack. A year has passed, and Kyiv continues to endure heroically. Women, children, and all the people have risen. The world, too: NATO has risen in the Atlantic, Japan in the Pacific."
Zelensky responded.
President Biden has come at a most difficult time for Ukraine. Ukraine will continue fighting for its and the world's freedom."
"This is America!"
Biden spoke of massive economic aid from countries worldwide, including 700 tanks, firearms, artillery shells, rocket systems, and anti-ship anti-aircraft defense systems.
This is America! was the vibrant tone of his speech.
The next day, on the 21st, President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to the Russian State Duma that lasted over an hour and a half.
Putin was unperturbed and asserted that the West had started the war and that Russia was doing everything possible to achieve a peaceful resolution.
He also presented his unique view of history, saying that the West had fostered Nazi power in an attempt to exterminate Russia.
He expressed his gratitude and respect for the fallen soldiers and their families.
He concluded his speech by introducing an effective plan to promote further growth of the Russian economy.
"Some of our people want to live in comfort and luxury in the West's attractive cities and resort areas," he said. The Russian government does not prevent them from doing so. But they are always treated as second-class foreigners. There must be another option for Russians. It is to be with the motherland.
These words may reflect that a million people, primarily young intellectuals, have left Russia.
At the bottom of his long-winded speech was a distorted view of history and feelings of suspicion and deep resentment toward Western society, especially the United States.
On the 22nd, Wang Yi visited Russia.
In contrast to the heated exchanges with Blinken, Wang Yi shook hands with Putin in a friendly and firm manner and said, "The international situation is complicated at present.
The international situation is complicated, but China-Russia relations have endured the test of changes and are mature, solid, and stable like Mount Tai.
"China and Russia are inseparable in strategy, maintaining strategic agreements and strengthening strategic coordination." Wang Yi emphasized.
Putin entrusted Wang Yi with his "heartfelt greetings" to Xi, pledging "solidarity and coordination with China in the international community.
Putin expressed his "deepest gratitude" for China's economic cooperation, saying that trade between the two countries will reach 185 billion dollars (about 21.4 trillion yen) in 2021 and that he hopes to increase this to 200 billion dollars (about 26 trillion yen) by 2012.
He was a low profile in his speech.
The basic stance of the two countries is based on the emphasis on the December 30, 2010, meeting between Xi and Putin.
In a word, this means deepening military relations.
To this day, China does not refer to the war of aggression against Ukraine as a war.
It only refers to the "Ukrainian crisis, "which turns a blind eye to Russia's invasion and does not condemn it.
China's views on the war in Ukraine were made clear on February 24, one year after the invasion.
That is the "China's Position on the Political Solution to the Ukraine Crisis."
Starting with "respect for the sovereignty of each country," it contains 12 items, including "ceasefire" and "start of peace negotiations," along with "abandonment of Cold War thinking," "suspension of unilateral sanctions," and so on.
What Japan Should Do
In sum, the document encourages Russia and Ukraine to compromise and tells them to resume dialogue and negotiations.
Nowhere does it blame Russia for its brutal actions.
There is no mention of Ukraine's territorial integrity or the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Zelensky dismissed China's mediation in a conciliatory tone, saying that he "believes it is beneficial for global security" to meet with Xi but that "only the parties to the war can propose a peace plan."
Biden said, "Mr. Putin welcomes it. He immediately dismissed the Chinese proposal with the candid comment, "This can't be a good idea."
What will China do from here?
They are threatened by establishing a semiconductor supply chain, which the U.S. is trying to persuade Japan and the Netherlands to implement together, and the elimination of China.
They must somehow avoid strong sanctions that would be a significant blow.
They see that Biden and the Democrats must hope to achieve peace in the war in Ukraine for next year's presidential election.
They want to exploit that "weakness" and maintain their path to securing their interests.
The posture of military support for Russia may also be a tactic to extract concessions from the United States.
The last thing we should do to a bullish China is to make concessions or compromises.
What Japan should do is clear.
Mr. Wang Yi urged Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi not to think about decoupling and to conduct independent diplomacy (not following the U.S.).
Biden said, "Japan has stood up in the Pacific."
Our country should stand up for itself.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should steadily realize the three security documents and visit Ukraine to state that we are with Ukraine.
