Interview: Community with shared future a vision highly relevant, necessary -- former Japanese PM

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Chao Wen)

Building a sense of shared future is important for the world to avoid fragmentation and address challenges, and for Asia to safeguard peace and promote common development, said former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

TOKYO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The call by Chinese President Xi Jinping for building a community with a shared future for mankind is highly relevant and necessary in this era, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Hatoyama said building a sense of shared future is important for the world to avoid fragmentation and address challenges, and for Asia to safeguard peace and promote common development.

Hatoyama recalled in 2012, when China and Japan marked their 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, he met with then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping when he visited Beijing in March. "Xi is a far-sighted leader with a broad vision," he said.

Hatoyama has spoken highly of and voiced strong support for the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind on multiple occasions. "On the earth we live, not only the environment functions as a whole, but people are also interconnected," he said.

Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2022 shows a high-speed electric passenger train, customized for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, being unloaded from a vessel in Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important path toward materializing this vision, Hatoyama said, adding that the initiative will help promote regional economic development and exchanges between countries, thereby preventing disputes effectively.

"Building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future is an important part of the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind," Hatoyama said, noting that he himself pays particular attention to the Asia-Pacific region.

Pointing to a Chinese calligraphy work on the wall of his office in Tokyo which reads "fraternity," Hatoyama said he champions the spirit of fraternity and has always advocated the establishment of an East Asian community, "the vision of which, in my opinion, has a lot in common with the concept of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future."

"Asia is one and building the sense that Asian countries share a common future is very important," he noted.

When Hatoyama reviewed the modern history of Asia, he said that Japan once invaded the Korean Peninsula and China. Asia, which was once a battlefield, should not become a battlefield again, but a "community without war" in the future, he said.

The former prime minister said he believes that on the road to a community with a shared future, it is necessary to overcome the problem of mistrust between neighboring countries and bring people of different countries closer together.

One of the main reasons for the emotional barriers between Japan and its neighbors is historical issues, and Japan should face up to the historical facts, he said.

Asian countries share common concerns in economy and trade, education, health care, sports and environmental protection, Hatoyama said, noting that discussions and exchanges across these fields to forge an integrated community in various fields are very important to Asia.

Photo taken on Dec. 30, 2021 shows a view of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement enters into force on Jan. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

On the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which came into force earlier this year, Hatoyama said he believes that it has provided relevant economies with a common ground for trade exchanges and is of great benefit to the economic development of the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Hatoyama, 75, also chair of the East Asian Community Institute, served as Japanese prime minister from September 2009 to June 2010. During that period, he attached great importance to relations with China and has been committed to promoting friendly Japan-China exchanges and cooperation since leaving office.

The former prime minister very much agrees with the idea that "amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states," and expressed his willingness to do something for the people-to-people exchanges between Japan and China. To this end, Hatoyama frequently travels between the two countries.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. Speaking of bilateral ties, Hatoyama pointed out that the perception of historical issues affects the development of Japan-China relations, and only by solving historical issues can the political issues between the two countries be fundamentally solved.

During his visit to China in January 2013, Hatoyama visited the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. He apologized for the crimes committed by Japanese soldiers and sincerely wished that such historical tragedies won't be repeated.

Hatoyama recalled seeing the statue named "Peace" featuring a mother holding a white dove in front of the memorial hall and himself planting a ginkgo tree there as a symbol of peace.

Hato in Japanese means dove, Hatoyama said, which symbolizes peace.

"I will always cherish this name with its symbolic meaning and push Japan to face up to history and cherish peace," he said.