'Freedom is key to HK', says Japanese PM

According to Japanese media reports, Shinzo Abe (right) brought up Hong Kong as he greeted Xi Jinping. Photo: AP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told President Xi Jinping that Hong Kong's freedom is important for the territory's prosperity, according to local media reports.



The Japan Times and the Mainichi Newspaper reported that Abe argued that a free and open society is most important for the development and prosperity of Hong Kong, under the One Country, Two Systems principle.



The media quoted a senior Japanese official as saying that their prime minister brought this up with the recent dispute over a controversial extradition bill in mind, and that he's concerned whether the bill was actually scrapped.



It was not known what Xi's response was to Abe's comments.



The Foreign Ministry in Beijing had earlier said that Hong Kong should be off limits when world leaders meet for the G20 summit.



After the talks with Abe, Xi also said that the relationship between China and Japan had improved to a level rarely seen in many years, and he said that a state visit to Japan next spring would be a good idea.



As the leaders gathered for the summit, ads appeared in major international newspapers calling on world powers to raise the Hong Kong issue with Chinese officials. The ads were placed by a group of anti-extradition bill protesters who crowdsourced millions of dollars in just a few hours.



The ad appeared in some Japanese newspapers as well as major dailies like The New York Times, The Guardian and The Australian.