Suga says Japan will speak up on rights, but stable relations with China needed

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said after a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday that Japan will say what is needed to be said to China and speak up on human rights, but also stressed the need to establish a stable, constructive relationship with Beijing.

At an event hosted by Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank after a day of talks with Biden, Suga said Japan would "firmly raise its voice" on issues like Myanmar, Xinjiang and Hong Kong and work with the international community to seek concrete actions.

"Japan's basic policy on pending issues caused by China is to firmly assert what should be asserted and strongly request China to take specific action," he said. "At the same time we must work to establish a stable and constructive relationship with China." (Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Linda Sieg, Kiyoshi Tanaka and Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Chris Reese)