News Snapshot:
In response to an invitation from the Chinese, Takeo Akiba, secretary-general of the National Security Secretariat of Japan (NSS), and Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), held a press conference on 17 August 2022. In 2013, when the Japanese NSS was launched, Yang Jiechi was the counterpart to the secretary-general, so it is no surprise that the conference was attended by Yang Jiechi on the Chinese side and not Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The issue is the timing. As is well known, Chinese criticism of Japan intensified around the time of US House Speaker Nancy...
