Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated in an interview that if a crisis were to occur in Taiwan and US forces were attacked during a joint operation to evacuate Japanese and American citizens, Japan’s inaction would threaten the all-important security alliance between Japan and the US.
According to Nikkei Asia, on the 26th, Takaichi discussed on an Asahi TV program the possibility of launching a joint action to evacuate Japanese nationals in Taiwan: “If US military personnel are attacked and Japan does nothing, fleeing on our own, then the US-Japan alliance would collapse.”
Takaichi said, “If an emergency arises, we need to go and rescue Japanese and American citizens in Taiwan.”
On November 7 last year, while answering questions in Japan’s House of Representatives, Takaichi pointed out that if a ‘Taiwan contingency’ involves the use of force, it could constitute a ‘survival-threatening emergency’ under Japan’s security legislation, which would allow the exercise of collective self-defense, but the specific course of action would depend on the actual circumstances.
Chinese Representative at UN Security Council Urges Japan to Reflect and Correct
Meanwhile, on the 26th, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, spoke at the Security Council’s open debate on the rule of international law, urging Japan to reflect and correct the “erroneous comments” made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan.
He said that recently, Takaichi has been acting against the tide of history, openly linking China’s Taiwan with Japan’s so-called ‘survival-threatening emergency,’ and has sent out a wrong signal regarding possible military intervention on the Taiwan issue.