Japan will emphasize the importance of boosting collaboration with the United States and the Philippines to counter China's assertive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region, a draft of its annual foreign policy report showed Thursday.
The Diplomatic Bluebook for 2024 will also underscore that Tokyo "cannot afford to waste even a moment" to solve the long-standing issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals as the victims' families continue to age, according to the draft obtained by Kyodo News.
"China has been continuing and intensifying its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force" and "military activities" in waters surrounding Japan, including the South and East China seas, the draft paper said.