Japanese media reported that when the Japanese government held the state funeral of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, when arranging the presentation of flowers by representatives of various countries, the Japanese government would refer to it as "Taiwan".

(File photo, Reuters)

[Central News Agency] The Japanese government held the state funeral of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the 27th. When arranging the presentation of flowers by representatives of various countries, what the Japanese government will call Taiwan has attracted much attention.

According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese government plans to use the name "Taiwan".

According to Kyodo News, a number of government officials revealed that the Japanese government will use the name "Taiwan" instead of Taiwan's official name "Republic of China" when holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe on the 27th.

It is generally believed that the Japanese government considered Abe's deep friendship with Taiwan during his lifetime.

Please read on...

China has designated Wan Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, to represent the Chinese government at the state funeral of Abe, but if the Japanese government regards Taiwan as a country, China may rebound.

The report pointed out that when the Japanese government held a memorial ceremony for the 311 earthquake in 2012, it did not arrange for Taiwan to offer flowers, leaving Taiwan in the cold.

For this, the then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda later apologized in Congress.

Japan's Jiji News Agency reported on the 22nd that China's assignment of Wan Gang, who has a low political weight, to attend the state funeral of Shinzo Abe is generally believed to be because China's backlash against the Japanese government over the "Taiwan issue".

The report said that China had previously sent its vice-president Wang Qishan to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Wan Gang is not a member of the Communist Party of China, but the chairman of the "democratic party" Zhi Gong Party. He visited Japan in 2017 when he was Minister of Science and Technology and has limited relations with Japan.

A Chinese scholar who is familiar with Sino-Japanese relations said, "Wan Gang is the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Although he has a high status, he has no power. It may be purely polite that China sent Wan Gang to attend Abe's state funeral."