FOCUS: Japan’s Takaichi Draws Ire of China over Taiwan

Tokyo, Nov. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has drawn the ire of China by indicating the possibility that the Self-Defense Forces may be mobilized even without a direct attack on Japan in a possible Taiwan contingency. Attending a question-and-answer session of a parliamentary budget panel meeting for the first time as prime minister, Takaichi said on Nov. 7 that a contingency over Taiwan could constitute what Japan calls a survival-threatening situation, allowing the country to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Takaichi’s comment, which suggests a departure from the previous administrations’ stance of remaining deliberately ambiguous on the matter, has drawn intense protests from China. The country has also recommended its citizens not to visit Japan. In the session, Takaichi discussed a scenario in which China mounts armed attacks in order to unify Taiwan and blockades the sea using battleships. U.S. forces then come to Taiwan’s aid, and the use of force occurs in response, Takaichi continued. “This is a case that can become a survival-threatening situation, no matter how you look at it,” she declared. Takaichi was responding to Katsuya Okada, former secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, who asked about the circumstances under which Japan would face a survival-threatening situation. The concept of survival-threatening situations was established in the national security legislation enacted in 2015 under then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Under the legislation, the government changed its long-standing interpretation of the Constitution, which had only allowed the exercise of the right to individual self-defense. The legislation allows a limited exercise of the right to collective self-defense when an armed attack occurs against a country with close ties with Japan, threatening Japan’s survival and posing a clear danger of fundamentally overturning the people’s right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The legislation was crafted to alleviate U.S. concerns with tensions rising in the East China Sea. A senior Defense Ministry official said, “The legislation is also important in terms of enhancing the effectiveness of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” In related parliamentary discussions, then Prime Minister Abe referred to the possibility that the SDF could be dispatched for minesweeping operations if a survival-threatening situation occurred in the Strait of Hormuz. In 2017, then Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said that a North Korean missile launch toward the U.S. territory of Guam could also constitute a survival-threatening situation. However, past prime ministers, including Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida, adhered to the basic line, saying that they would “make a comprehensive judgment based on various factors” and that they had in mind “no specific country” as a target. The government traditionally adopted the stance of deliberate ambiguity as it did not want to provoke China. It was only after his retirement as prime minister that Abe publicly stated, “A Taiwanese contingency is a Japanese contingency.” A former SDF member described Takaichi’s scenario as “just an ordinary simulation,” while a senior Defense Ministry official said that Takaichi’s remarks were not incorrect. Concerns, however, persist that revealing detailed assumptions would expose Japan’s strategic “cards.” Additionally, a government official said that such remarks could constrain the government in the event of an actual contingency. In a follow-up statement last week, Takaichi said she would refrain from clarifying specific cases in the future while refusing to retract her comments in question. Sources said there were calls within the prime minister’s office to adjust her approach. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]