Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, resigned on Feb. 28, 2022, from his position and returned to China. According to a 2019 analysis in the Nikkei, Kong was unable to achieve the objective given to him by Beijing to improve China-Japan relations, leading to his departure. Kong, born in China’s Heilongjiang province, had significant experience in Japan, having worked at various diplomatic posts there and holding a degree in Japanese. He was appointed Chinese ambassador to Japan in May 2019, during the height of the US-China trade war. Kong’s primary task was to restore and strengthen China-Japan relations amid rising tensions between the United States and China. However, unforeseen events, including the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the COVID-19 outbreak, prevented Kong from achieving his objectives. Kong briefly disappeared from Japan in early 2022, sparking speculation about the state of Japan-China relations, but he later returned to his position as ambassador to Japan. The relationship between China and Japan has fallen to a historic low, with citizens and officials on both sides holding unfavorable views of each other, reflecting the difficult diplomatic path that lies ahead.
Ambassador to Japan resigns over incomplete CCP missions.
