China, Japan agree to cooperate in responding to infectious diseases

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- The health chiefs of China and Japan agreed on Friday to cooperate in responding to future infectious diseases through the development of vaccines and medicines following the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese minister Keizo Takemi said.

Takemi told reporters before wrapping up his three-day visit to China that he and Lei Haichao, head of the country's National Health Commission, shared the view that international cooperation is "inevitable" in tackling pandemics, drawing a lesson from the COVID public health crisis.

The Japanese minister also said he asked Lei to join a trilateral meeting of health chiefs involving the two Asian neighbors plus South Korea, which is scheduled to be hosted by Japan later this year.

Takemi added he discussed with Lei how to cope with an aging society, and the Chinese health chief expressed Beijing's interest in learning about Tokyo's efforts to grapple with the issue.

In 2023, mainland China saw its population fall for the second straight year, with its birthrate hitting a record low, accelerating the graying of the world's second-largest economy.

Takemi, who assumed the health minister post in September last year, became the first Japanese Cabinet member to visit China since then Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in April 2023.

Bilateral ties have been strained over a host of issues, including the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant that began in August last year, as well as China's detention of Japanese nationals for alleged spying.

"As neighbors, we should maintain and develop a relationship of mutual cooperation as much as possible," Takemi told reporters.