*Platinum Member*
Centennial Member
Posts: 113852
Liked By: 63927
Joined: 30 Jun 10
Followers:
3
Tipsters
Championship:
Player
has
not started
|
Japan’s Sanae Takaichi moves to ease weeks of tensions with China over the Taiwan Strait
Tokyo’s position on the island is unchanged, the Japanese prime minister says in an apparent climbdown
Liu Zhen and Zhuang Pinghui in Beijing
9:20pm, 3 Dec 2025
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae has told the Japanese parliament that Tokyo’s position on Taiwan remains unchanged. Photo: Reuters
After weeks of turmoil in relations with China, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to dial down tensions with Beijing over a hypothetical conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Responding to a lawmaker’s question on Wednesday, Takaichi told the Japanese parliament that Tokyo’s position on the island remained unchanged and referred to a 1972 commitment that led to the normalisation of ties between Beijing and Tokyo.
“The Japanese government’s basic position regarding Taiwan remains as stated in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique, and there has been no change to this position,” Takaichi said.
According to the 1972 communique, “the government of the People’s Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China” and the Japanese government “fully understands and respects this stand”.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The communique also says Japan “firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration”. Along with the Cairo Declaration of November 1943, which stipulates that Japan return territory seized from China during war, the two documents are often cited by Beijing as legal treaties supporting Taiwan as a part of China.
Takaichi’s comments on Wednesday come nearly a month after she told the parliament that an attack on Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” – one that could allow Tokyo to engage in military action.
Her statement on November 7 was the most explicit by a sitting Japanese prime minister on how Tokyo might respond to a Taiwan contingency and marked a departure from the country’s long-held strategic ambiguity over the issue. She later said the remarks were “hypothetical”.
The statement sent ties with China into a downward spiral, and prompted repeated demands from Beijing that she retract the remarks – something she refused to do.
In response, Beijing suspended imports of Japanese seafood, advised citizens not to travel or study in Japan, and cut intergovernmental and culture exchanges.
|
Main Menu >
Gossip Corner >
Japan reaffirms that Taiwan is part of China
1
) 
Find all Topics Started by LONGSTER
Find all Posts by LONGSTER
Follow / Unfollow
PM LONGSTER
Yesterday
11:58 PM (7 hours ago)
0 Likes
Like
