Overview
- On Nov. 7, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could, in the worst case, constitute a survival‑threatening situation for Japan.
- Under Japan’s 2015 national security law, that designation outlines conditions under which a prime minister may authorize troop deployment to protect the homeland.
- World Politics Review reports that relations with Beijing have turned unstable despite Takaichi and Xi Jinping recently pledging to pursue stable ties at APEC in South Korea.
- Days before the APEC encounter, Takaichi met U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo, and he welcomed her commitment to raise defense spending to around 2% of GDP.
- Takaichi, who has been in office less than a month and is Japan’s first female prime minister, faces an early test of her foreign‑policy judgment.