Takaichi, use of force on the island would activate self-defense
A military crisis in Taiwan would represent a “situation threatening the survival of Japan itself.” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this, forcefully reaffirming the strategic link between the security of the island and that of the Land of the Rising Sun, as well as marking a further leap in tone in Tokyo’s defensive posture. The conservative leader clarified that, in the event of the use of force against Taiwan, for example with a maritime blockade or other coercive measures by China, the government could invoke a clause under national security legislation, classified as “survival-threatening situations”.
Within this regulatory framework, approved in 2015, the exercise of the right of collective self-defense would be permitted, albeit within the framework of the pacifist Constitution.
Although Tokyo severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1972 to officially recognize Beijing, ties between Japan and Taiwan are solid, especially economically and technologically. The island, a former Japanese colony until 1945, is now a crucial hub in global supply chains, particularly for semiconductors. The declaration is destined to irritate China, analysts say, and follows positions already expressed by Japanese leaders in recent years, but in this case it now takes on greater importance due to the institutional position of those who pronounce it. In 2021, then-Vice Prime Minister Taro Aso caused a stir by saying that Japan and the United States “should defend Taiwan” in the event of an invasion. The declaration therefore risks further fueling tensions in a context already marked by increasing Chinese military maneuvers around the island and the strengthening of Tokyo’s alliance with Washington, which considers Beijing as a threat to its hegemony in the Asia Pacific.
