Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Summaries circulated of former Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya telling a press conference that "the side that caused the deterioration in Japan-China relations was ours," and that "Japan doesn't need to act like a great power—we are a middle power." The precise wording and context are hard to pin down, and the sharpest phrasings attributed to him remain unconfirmed, so how much is his own and how much is paraphrase is unclear. The remarks landed against a backdrop many readers raised—Chinese missile launches into Japan's exclusive economic zone and a canceled foreign-ministers' meeting—so a framing that put the blame on Japan alone drew heavy pushback. That Iwaya spoke out and traveled to China while holding no cabinet post sharpened the distrust.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Soft-on-China backlash (overwhelming majority) — Most comments cast Iwaya as a mouthpiece or "puppet" for Beijing and called for an anti-espionage law.
  • Resentment that an out-of-office politician weighed in — Many noted he no longer holds a post and asked why someone with no office was "butting in" at all.
  • Mockery from the other side (small group) — A smaller set used the remarks to needle nationalists ("the online right will go red in the face") and defended engaging with neighboring countries.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

Iwaya's "middle power" remarks on China

Former Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya reportedly said Japan caused the rift with China and is only a "middle power," triggering a wave of soft-on-China criticism and calls for an anti-spy law.

Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch, 2ch

Comments:

  • "'Japan doesn't need to act like a great power, we're a middle power'—the online right is gonna go red in the face over this, lol"
  • "The online right doesn't even have any great-power ideology, lol. Precisely because they don't, Japan links up with neighboring countries."
  • "Even 'middle power' is too generous—honestly Japan is a declining third-rate country."
  • "Is this guy on China's exclusive payroll?"
  • "It's exactly the words China wants to hear. He's totally China's puppet."
  • "China is just getting angry on its own."
  • "Well, inside Japan this just tanks Iwaya's approval rating, that's all."
  • "Enact an anti-espionage law already."
  • "Why trot over there to read their mood and then just act as a loudspeaker for their side? That's the whole problem. (；´Д｀)"
  • "Why is someone with no official post butting in?"
  • "Exactly—rolling out the red carpet for a small fry like Iwaya just backfires with public opinion."
  • "He might as well be China's dog. Being America's loyal lapdog gets tiring too."
  • "He's saying the same thing as Muneo—went off to Russia on his own, felt a 'response' on his own, and look at the state of Japan-Russia relations now."
  • "Japanese voters put him in the Diet, yet he ignores the public and only reads China's mood—this guy is really out of his mind."