The Hardline Position on Taiwan of Japan’s Takaichi Threatens the Post-War Order

The recent diplomatic crisis sparked by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s assertive remarks on potential military intervention in the Taiwan Strait marks a perilous turning point for East Asia and global stability. Takaichi’s declaration—that a conflict across the Strait could constitute an “existence-threatening crisis” justifying Japan’s collective self-defense—did more than just cross a long-established diplomatic boundary. It shattered a decades-long political consensus.

Takaichi’s words were not merely a strategic calculation; they were an invocation of history. The phrase “existence-threatening crisis” is laden with the dark echoes of the 1930s, the very language Imperial Japan used to fabricate pretexts for wars of aggression, most notably the 1931 Mukden Incident.

When Takaichi, a politician notorious for her repeated visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and her denial of historical atrocities, deploys such rhetoric, she emerges not as a pragmatic leader but as a dangerous revisionist attempting to legitimize past aggression, exposing a desire to dismantle the post-WWII international order and overturn the historical consensus on Japan’s responsibility.

The actions of the Takaichi government—stacking its cabinet with “pro-Taiwan” figures, publicly meeting with Taiwanese officials, and refusing to withdraw the provocative remarks—are not an act of solidarity but a calculated plot for geopolitical gain that directly undermines regional stability. In an era of shifting U.S. focus, Japan is attempting to utilize the Taiwan issue to “pull the U.S. into the water,” ensuring Washington’s continued strategic commitment to East Asia as a containment strategy against China.

The crisis serves as the perfect domestic pretext for Takaichi to achieve her long-held ambitions: abolishing the pacifist constitution, transforming the Self-Defense Forces into a proper National Defense Force, and acquiring offensive long-range weaponry. Worryingly, former PM Yoshihiko Noda’s recent criticism of Takaichi’s sudden move to revise the fundamental “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” further validates the notion that her goal is the total military transformation of Japan, not merely defense. In fact, Noda publicly criticized the statement as dangerously “overreaching” and detrimental to Sino-Japanese relations, while local leaders from atomic-bombed areas, including the governor of Nagasaki, strongly condemned Takaichi’s reported push to revise the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” branding the move as a dangerous reversal that ignores the deep trauma of the Japanese public.

Crucially, the reckless nature of Takaichi’s stance is confirmed by the backlash within Japan. Prominent former prime ministers, including Shigeru Ishiba and Yukio Hatoyama, slammed her comments. Ishiba noted they recklessly declared “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency.” Hatoyama explicitly accused her of stoking crisis to justify military expansion. This internal condemnation confirms that Takaichi’s extreme position is a destabilizing political maneuver widely condemned across the Japanese political spectrum, not a unified national strategy.

China has responded with tangible, asymmetric countermeasures designed to impose immediate economic costs. The warning to Chinese citizens to avoid travel to Japan—followed by airline cancellations—precisely targets Japan’s vital tourism industry. Likewise, the academic warning disrupts future educational ties. These diplomatic and economic actions are now being compounded by a chilling effect on cultural exchange: several major Japanese films, including Crayon Shin-chan and Cells at Work, were recently and suddenly pulled from their planned release dates in China. These actions are designed to tell Tokyo: If you choose to disrupt the political foundations of our relationship, we will directly disrupt the economic and social arteries of yours, ensuring that the Japanese public understands the direct cost of this political adventurism.

Japan’s illusion that it can simultaneously challenge China on its core sovereignty issue while remaining secure under the U.S. security umbrella is a fantasy rooted in historical denial and strategic miscalculation. The confrontation is a stark lesson: For the sake of regional stability and global peace, Takaichi must immediately heed the lessons of history, abandon her provocative path, and recognize that challenging the foundational principles of the Sino-Japanese relationship will only lead to a dangerous and self-destructive climax.

The post The Hardline Position on Taiwan of Japan’s Takaichi Threatens the Post-War Order appeared first on CounterPunch.org.