Prep materials indicate Japan PM Takaichi made controversial Taiwan remarks on the spot
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Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in a parliamentary session in November precipitated the latest flareup in Sino-Japanese tensions.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO - Prep materials for a November appearance in Parliament by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose remarks in the session
The materials prepared by the Cabinet Secretariat were posted on X on the night of Dec 11 by Ms Kiyomi Tsujimoto, an upper house member of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, who had submitted an inquiry letter to the government.
In response to a question from main opposition party lawmaker Katsuya Okada during a lower house committee meeting on Nov 7, Ms Takaichi said a Taiwan contingency could be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that would require action from the country’s defence forces.
The disclosed prep materials contain remarks such as “It is the government’s longstanding position that we hope issues concerning Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue” and “The government will decide what kind of situation would be a survival-threatening situation, after taking all the information into account based on the specific conditions an actual situation entails”.
Ms Takaichi initially toed the line from the prep materials in her remarks, but as questions and answers with Mr Okada went on, she said a Taiwan contingency “could be a case of a survival-threatening situation, however you think about it”. Such phrasing did not appear in the prep materials.
On X, Ms Tsujimoto said: “It has now become clear that the remarks represented the prime minister’s personal views and were not written by bureaucrats.”
Prior to the Budget Committee meeting, Mr Okada submitted a list of questions he intended to ask the prime minister during the session. Ms Tsujimoto later requested that prep materials made by bureaucrats for that exchange be disclosed, according to a source familiar with the matter.
China, which regards Taiwan as a province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary, immediately protested Ms Takaichi’s remarks, demanding she retract them.
Beijing has since implemented a series of measures that are viewed as retaliatory, including warning its citizens not to travel to Japan and suspending imports of Japanese seafood. KYODO NEWS
