Public figures across the political and academic spectrum gathered in Tokyo to protest Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan, warning that her comments and her administration’s push for military expansion risk heightening regional tensions and drawing Japan into war.
At the gathering on Thursday, former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said Takaichi’s actions undermine the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, which led to a serious deterioration in bilateral relations.
“Japan has historically learned a great deal from China and absorbed much of its culture. That deep connection is the foundation of today’s Japan,” Hatoyama told reporters.
Japan should maintain friendly relations with China and build a solid foundation of mutual trust; however, current bilateral ties face grave difficulties, making a correction in course urgently necessary, he said.
Kazuhiko Togo, an international politics scholar and former diplomat, said Japan’s national goal should be to prevent war in East Asia.
Diplomacy, he said, is not about unilateral declarations but about understanding the other side’s position and bottom lines when clarifying its own position and formulating policy.
Togo called on the new government formed after the election to correctly understand China and work toward peaceful coexistence between the two countries.
Many at the gathering raised alarm over a series of military expansion policies promoted by Takaichi since taking office under the banner of national security.
Masakatsu Adachi, emeritus professor at the Kanto Gakuin University, told reporters that the Takaichi administration is seeking to overturn existing security documents, sharply increase defence spending and has even floated the idea of nationalising the defence industry.
He pointed out that Takaichi’s repeated references to a “survival-threatening situation” stem directly from her military expansion agenda.
Yuko Tanaka, former president of Hosei University, said Takaichi’s words and actions are eroding Japan-China relations built since 1972.
She warned that sustained increases in military spending could strain the economy, affect people’s livelihoods and potentially trigger a new economic crisis.
“From every perspective, worsening relations with China will only bring negative consequences for Japan,” Tanaka said. — Xinhua
