The House of Representatives is set to pass a resolution expressing concern about Uyghur human rights as early as Tuesday, in a move likely to irritate China days before the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
The resolution, watered down during months of debate among ruling and opposition parties, is a sign of Tokyo’s struggle to balance ties between its ally the U.S. and its biggest trading partner, China. Nevertheless, its passage just ahead of the Olympics and in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties indicates determination among many lawmakers to hold Beijing to account for suspected human rights abuses.
"It’s an enormous first step,” Yasue Funayama, an opposition lawmaker and co-chair of one of the parliamentary human rights groups leading the effort, said of the resolution in an interview in Tokyo on Thursday. "If the whole of parliament agrees that there are concerns about the human rights situation, we will have to look at what to do about it.”
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