‘Seeing the scene, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping couldn’t help but embrace each other, sharing their joy. I was right there, witnessing this touching moment,” Yasuo Fukuda, son of Takeo Fukuda and a Japanese politician who also served as prime minister of Japan (2007-08), recalled at the opening ceremony of the 19th Beijing-Tokyo Forum on October 19 in Beijing.
Fukuda’s remarks harkened back to a pivotal moment in China-Japan relationship—the ceremony for the exchange of instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship on October 23, 1978.
Back to the beginning
The normalization of relationship between Japan and China in 1972 was an important step for the two nations, but the two sides did not immediately come to a peace treaty. Though diplomatic normalization was significant, both sides recognized that more work had to be done to fully mend the damaged ties.
