Yang Jiechi
Kawaguchi earned the approval of the parliament to go to China from April 23 to 24 to attend a conference but without prior permission, she extended for one more day to meet foreign policy official State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Kawaguchi apologizes to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, who is also the head of the LDP, of her unannounced leave but reasons that the last-minute arrangements with Yang was for Japan's best interests. This extension gained a lot of criticisms from the opposition parties as Kawaguchi violated parliamentary rules as well neglected her duties. However those who are in defense of the lawmaker such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba say that the meeting between the two ministers was in order to address the territorial dispute going on between Japan and China in the East China Sea.