Japan Raises Concerns Over Uyghurs and Maritime Disputes in Talks With Xi Jinping

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly raised concerns over Uyghur human rights and South China Sea tensions during talks with China’s leader.

Oct 31, 2025
By: Alp Uyghur

Key Points

• Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Chinese President Xi Jinping she has “serious concerns” about the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Uyghurs.
• The concerns were voiced during a meeting — signalling Tokyo’s growing willingness to publicly challenge Beijing on human-rights and maritime issues.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday said she raised “serious concerns” with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning maritime tensions in the South China Sea and human-rights issues in Uyghur homeland. The remarks came during a diplomatic engagement between Japan and China aimed at managing increasingly fraught bilateral relations. “We expressed serious concerns regarding actions in the South China Sea, as well as the situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Takaichi said.

The readout released by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting said, “Prime Minister Takaichi reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for the international community, including Japan. In addition, Prime Minister Takaichi once again expressed Japan’s serious concerns about the situations in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and other issues.”

Xi told Takaichi that he hoped Japan would maintain the “general direction of peaceful, friendly and cooperative bilateral relations” and emphasized that Tokyo should follow and honor agreed-upon provisions on major issues, including historical matters, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Trump did not raise the Uyghur genocide during his meeting with Xi Jinping, leaving Japan’s Prime Minister as the only world leader to publicly address Uyghur human rights with the Chinese president.

Tokyo’s direct reference to Uyghur human rights marks a notable shift in its public diplomatic posture toward Beijing, which historically has been more cautious in raising human-rights concerns.