Overview
- China’s vice foreign minister Sun Weidong summoned Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi to denounce the Japanese prime minister’s remarks as extremely grave and openly provocative.
- Sanae Takaichi told Parliament that armed attacks on Taiwan could amount to a threat to Japan’s survival, justifying the deployment of warships and use of force under the 2015 security framework.
- Tokyo says its stance on Taiwan is unchanged and calls for peace, stability and dialogue across the strait, even as Takaichi declines to retract her comments and avoids citing further scenarios.
- China’s consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted a violent threat on X referencing coverage of Takaichi’s remarks, a message Japan’s government spokesperson Minoru Kihara called extremely inappropriate.
- Takaichi’s hardline posture comes as Tokyo seeks stronger defenses, with reported plans to lift military spending toward 2% of GDP and deepen coordination with the United States.