Japan is being urged by Hong Kong citizens to become more serious about safeguarding their freedoms and human rights as China makes moves to tighten its grip on the territory, but Tokyo is caught in a dilemma as it eyes improved ties with the mainland.
As Sino-Japanese relations have been improving by effectively shelving their territorial dispute in over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, both Asian powers have been keen to work in tandem to revitalize their economies, which have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tokyo, however, has also emphasized its alliance with the United States, which has boosted pressure on the Communist Party-led Chinese government in the wake of Beijing's push to pass a national security law for the democratic former British colony.