Japan should do more to pressure China on human rights, an adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a rare interview, backing a path that could increase tensions between Asia’s biggest economies.

Gen Nakatani, appointed to a new human rights position created last year, said he wanted to push China harder on the issue following a parliamentary resolution this week that called on the government to probe alleged abuses.

The former defense minister had previously worked on human rights with a group of legislators from ruling and opposition parties. Long reluctant to criticize other countries in public over human rights, Japan changed course following Beijing’s clampdown on Hong Kong in 2020, a move that chilled already difficult bilateral relations — and led to the new post Nakatani now holds.