MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Japan continues to take caution in statements about the Hong Kong protests as it struggles to find a neutral stance between Beijing and its third-largest trading partner Hong Kong, The Diplomat stated Monday.
According to the magazine, Japan refrains from any kind of statements that would come as damaging to its improvement of economic relationships with China - to be potentially boosted through a summit this November - and cooperation with Hong Kong, which is Japan's third-largest trading partner.
Japan broke its week-long silence about the Hong Kong protests, the magazine notes, only at the end of the last week, when the country's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stated that "Japan strongly hopes Hong Kong's free and open system will be kept under the principle of "one nation, two systems".
However, according to the magazine, Japan holds back from further comments on the matter fearing to put its relationships with China at stake. The Diplomat quotes Japanese officials as saying that "we should not say any more (than what's been officially said). That would be better".
The Diplomat comments that despite the fact that there are 1,200 Japanese businesses functioning in Hong Kong, which also acts as Japan's largest importer of agricultural products, Japan is keen on deepening its ties with China.
On September, thousands gathered in Hong Kong in support of a student demonstration by the Occupy Central movement, also known as Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP), which began on September 26 in protest against Chinese government plans to control the 2017 election in Hong Kong. According to the claims of Occupy Central, China is going back on its word to maintain the city's autonomy under the "one country, two systems" formula.
