Japan–China Joint Communiqué
Japan and the PRC establish diplomatic relations through the Japan–China Joint Communiqué
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗One document made diplomatic relations effective the same day it was issued — before either country had an embassy in the other’s capital.
Beijing, 29 September 1972
Japan and the People’s Republic of China issued their Joint Communiqué in Beijing on 29 September 1972, closing negotiations that involved Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka and foreign minister Masayoshi Ohira on one side and premier Zhou Enlai and foreign minister Ji Pengfei on the other.
The text ran to nine numbered operative provisions. It terminated the “abnormal state of affairs” between the two governments and made diplomatic relations effective that day — not in 1973, as some summaries have it. Tanaka’s visit ran 25–30 September, and he had met Mao Zedong on the 27th.
Two carefully chosen verbs about Taiwan
Japan recognized the PRC government as the sole legal government of China, which ended Japan’s official relations with the government of the Republic of China in Taipei.
On Taiwan itself the wording was deliberately asymmetric. Beijing declared Taiwan an inalienable part of the PRC; Japan said it “fully understands and respects” that position and maintained its stance under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation. Japan did not adopt the stronger formulation that it recognized PRC sovereignty over Taiwan.
Reparations renounced in a single clause
The PRC renounced its demand for war reparations from Japan. The document records a renunciation of the demand — not a bilateral payment or settlement made that day.
Both governments promised peaceful settlement of disputes and further negotiations toward a peace-and-friendship treaty and practical agreements. The communiqué also directed each side to establish an embassy and exchange ambassadors quickly; Japan opened its Beijing embassy in January 1973.
Sources
- Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China
- Chronology of Japan–China Relations Since Normalization, Embassy of Japan in China
- Japan, Taiwan and the “One China” Framework after 50 Years
- ROC–Japan Relations after September 1972, Taiwan government publication
Researched 24 Aug 2026 4 sources not yet audited
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Checked against
- Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China
- Chronology of Japan–China Relations Since Normalization, Embassy of Japan in China
- Japan, Taiwan and the “One China” Framework after 50 Years
- ROC–Japan Relations after September 1972, Taiwan government publication