Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous and hostile remarks on China's Taiwan region have challenged the post-war international order and sent a dangerous signal to Taiwan separatist forces, some Chinese experts said on Saturday. Since taking office as Japanese prime minister, Takaichi has acted aggressively on Taiwan-related issues and openly threatened to use forces to support the Taiwan secessionist forces.
At a Diet meeting on November 7, Takaichi claimed that a Taiwan emergency involving the use of military vessels and military force from the Chinese mainland could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. According to legislation, Japan's Self-Defense Forces could exercise the right of "collective self-defense" if such a situation is recognized as "survival-threatening."
Takaichi later insisted that her remarks were in line with the government's longstanding view, and she had no intention to retract the remarks.
Cai Liang, director of the Center for Northeast Asian Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said Takaichi has a history of "challenging the bottom line of China-Japan relations."
"Sanae Takaichi belongs to extreme right-wing in her political orientation, and on the Taiwan question, she never hesitates to challenge the bottom line of China-Japan relations. We can see this from the people she uses. Her high-level appointments within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) include Chair of the Election Strategy Committee Keiji Furuya, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara. In October this year, when Takaichi was just the president of the LDP, Keiji Furuya led a delegation of about 30 Japanese Diet members to pay a sneaky visit to Taiwan, which had a very negative impact," said Cai.
On issues concerning Taiwan, Japan committed crimes to the Chinese people in history. In 1895, Japan forcibly seized Taiwan through the Treaty of Shimonoseki and imposed a colonial rule on it for 50 years, committing numerous atrocities.
In 1945, after 14 years of strenuous struggle and tremendous sacrifice, the Chinese people achieved the great victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Japan signed the instrument of surrender, formally accepting international legal documents, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which stipulated the restoration of Taiwan to China. China recovered Taiwan and restored its exercise of sovereignty over the region, which became an integral part of the post-World War II international order.
Takaichi's remarks have evidenced that she has never seriously reflected on Japan's crimes in history and drawn the painful lessons, but instead has openly challenged the one-China principle and overturned historical justice.
"She has actually violated international law and the post-war international order, while sending a wrong signal to the Taiwan separatist forces of the Democratic Progressive Party," said Cai.
Su Xiaohui, an associate research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, suggested Takaichi's action is part of a broader Japanese strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Japan hopes to enhance its own status in the regional security of Asia-Pacific, while promoting great power competition and strategic games, attempting to form stronger bloc confrontation. In this process, Japan has showed a dangerous trend in its policy making by playing the so-called 'Taiwan card' to achieve its objectives and 'multiple seas linkage.' At the same time, we have seen that there is also a strong backlash in Japan, with many people pointing to the intentions behind Sanae Takaichi's remarks, their impact on China-Japan relations and the losses Japan will bear. For Takaichi, she is more in need of relying on right-wing forces to consolidate her administration. Therefore, it is not accidental for these remarks to burst out, rather, her selfish interest is at play," said Su.
Experts slam Japanese PM's remarks on Taiwan
