LDP Lawmakers Continue to Visit Taiwan amid Tensions with China

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–Lawmakers of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party continue to visit Taiwan despite the current tensions between Japan and China over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks on a Taiwan contingency. Meanwhile, it seems unlikely that a suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers for Japan-China friendship will be able to send a delegation to China by the end of this year, as it has sought. LDP Executive Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda is scheduled to visit Taiwan for three days through Tuesday. He is coordinating to meet with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. Hagiuda previously visited the self-governing island in 2022 and 2023, when he was head of the LDP’s Policy Research Council. At the time, he was treated as a “successor” of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was friendly to Taiwan. Earlier this month, Taiwan’s foreign ministry announced upcoming visits by former Japanese Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki and Akihisa Nagashima, who was a special adviser to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Six members of the LDP faction led by former Prime Minister Taro Aso, including former Foreign Minister Taro Kono, will also visit Taiwan from Wednesday. A total of around 30 Japanese lawmakers are expected to visit Taiwan by early next year. These visits appear to indicate Japan’s emphasis on cooperating with Taiwan. As China is pressuring Taiwan and taking a hard-line stance toward Japan, a veteran Japanese lawmaker said, “We need to respond firmly to China.” The suprapartisan group had planned to send a delegation to China after the end of an extraordinary Diet session last week. However, the situation changed after Takaichi said at a parliamentary meeting on Nov. 7 that a Taiwan crisis could constitute a survival-threatening situation for Japan, allowing the country to deploy its Self-Defense Forces. In line with the intentions of the group’s chairman, former LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, Yuko Obuchi of the LDP and Shoichi Kondo of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan had contact with Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao behind the scenes this month, but failed to make progress. “It’s difficult (to visit China) now,” a senior member of the suprapartisan group admitted. Parliamentary diplomacy with China had long been led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, but he has retired from politics. Komeito, the LDP’s previous coalition partner, had also played a key role, but not this time. “Politicians should visit (China) if they really want to break the current stalemate,” said a Komeito official. China began to take coercive military action this month, including an incident in which a Chinese military jet aimed its radar at a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force plane. The country has also escalated its response on the economic front, advising its citizens against traveling to Japan. This situation may continue for a while. Due to the upcoming Taiwan visits by LDP lawmakers, a senior member of the suprapartisan group said, “China could further harden its stance.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]