Japan moves to ease China tensions over Takaichi's Taiwan remarks
發佈日期: 2025-11-17 23:18
TVB News
Japan on Monday moved to de-escalate tensions with China over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan.
This as mainland media continued their onslaught on Takaichi. She recently said in parliament that any Chinese attack on Taiwan would pose a threat to Japan and may prompt a military response.
Japan said it has sent a Foreign Ministry official to meet his counterpart in Beijing today to try ease tensions.
The fallout from Sanae Takaichi's Taiwan comments continues. Japanese media reported that Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asia and Oceania bureau will travel to China today to hold meetings with Chinese officials.
Liu Jinsong, director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to be among those attending Tuesday's meeting.
Kanai is expected to explain that Takaichi's comments do not signal a shift in Japan's security policy while urging Beijing to avoid actions that may further damage ties.
Meanwhile, mainland state media continued to call out Takaichi and warn of rising Japanese militarism.
The People's Daily published a commentary today criticising Takaichi's "fallacious" remarks, saying it is tantamount to reviving militarism.
The idea that "if something happens to Taiwan, something happens to Japan" is a dangerous rhetoric in Japanese politics and attempts to link China's national reunification with Japan's security, it said.
The article said that Takaichi, only a month in office, is the first Japanese prime minister to make such a link.
It further states that the Chinese people's determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock and unbreakable.
Xinhua News Agency published an article on Sunday mentioning that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
It said that Japan should have learned a profound lesson from history, corrected its past mistakes and adhered to the path of peaceful development.
Amid the tension with China, Takaichi's approval rating in Japan has actually risen, though the public is divided on whether the country should exercise its right to self-defence should Taiwan be attacked.
A Kyodo news agency poll found that 48.8 percent are in favour and 44.2 percent against, while 60.4 percent backed Takaichi's plan to beef up Japan's defence spending.
The approval rating for Takaichi's cabinet rose 5.5 percent to 69.9 percent from the previous month.
