By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently claimed at a Diet meeting that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, warranting the exercise of collective self-defense rights. This implicitly suggests the potential for Japanese military involvement in the Taiwan question — an internal affair for China.
Such false rhetoric represents a serious infringement on China’s sovereignty and a direct challenge to the post-World War II international order. It has justifiably triggered concern and condemnation among members of the international community committed to upholding justice.
Despite the backlash, Takaichi has shown no sign of retracting her remarks, exposing the underlying historical misjudgments and highly dangerous historical, strategic, and security perspectives driving Japan’s right-wing forces. This trajectory demands close scrutiny, especially from neighboring Asian nations.
Takaichi’s fallacy regarding Taiwan reflects a concerning attempt to revive militarism. The narrative that “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency” has long been a perilous argument in Japanese politics. It seeks to conflate China’s legitimate pursuit of national reunification with Japan’s security concerns. Within weeks of assuming office, Takaichi became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to explicitly link Taiwan to Japan’s right of collective self-defense, signaling a significant and dangerous shift in policy.
Japan’s historical use of the so-called “survival-threatening situation” as a pretext for military aggression, such as creating the September 18 Incident under the pretext of exercising the right of self-defense, and the ensuing war against China that inflicted immense calamities across Asia and the world, remains a stark reminder of the consequences of unchecked militarism. Takaichi’s invocation of similar justifications raises serious concerns about a possible resurgence of this perilous path.
Takaichi’s brazen remarks represent a flagrant provocation against historical justice. Japan bears significant historical responsibility for the Taiwan question. Following the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan seized Taiwan and imposed 50 years of colonial rule, committing countless atrocities. In 1945, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender, formally accepting the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which stipulated that Taiwan be restored to China. The restoration of Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan marked the realization of historical justice.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan’s restoration. Instead of reflecting on its past aggression, Japan is stirring new tensions over the Taiwan question. Such actions not only constitute interference in China’s internal affairs but also undermine the political foundation of China-Japan relations and pose a serious challenge to the post-war international order.
The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests and is the red line that must not be crossed. The resolution of the Taiwan question and the realization of national reunification are matters solely for the Chinese people and brook no external interference.
Eighty years ago, the Chinese people defeated the Japanese aggressors. Today, that same determination, strength, and capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity remain unshaken. Any attempt to interfere in or obstruct China’s reunification is bound to fail and will be seen as a serious miscalculation. Japan is firmly cautioned: provoking tensions under the pretext of Taiwan will only invite consequences for itself.
The historical legacy of Japanese militarism is deeply etched in regional memory, and its impact is neither forgotten nor forgiven by the Chinese people and others across the world. For a Japanese leader to publicly express, for the first time, the intent to militarily intervene in the Taiwan question and to issue an implicit threat of force against China is an alarming signal. It reveals a dangerous attempt by right-wing forces to erode the constraints of the Pacifist Constitution and advance a strategic agenda aimed at remilitarization.
In recent years, Japan has undertaken significant revisions to its security policies, including sustained increases in defense spending, the relaxation of arms export restrictions, and efforts to develop offensive military capabilities, which reflect a troubling shift toward military expansion. While touting itself as a “peace-loving nation” committed to a world free of nuclear weapons, the Takaichi administration has issued ambiguous and evasive statements regarding the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, raising concerns about a potential departure from these long-standing commitments. Notably, senior Japanese officials have suggested that the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines cannot be ruled out. These developments reveal a major and deeply concerning transformation in Japan’s policies.
Eighty years after Japan’s surrender, Takaichi’s recent remarks have touched a raw nerve across the region. Far from being a mere miscalculation, they amount to a deliberate provocation. In the face of such actions, people around the world, including the Chinese people, must remain vigilant and steadfast in defending peace and upholding justice.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
