By Yu Hailong
The Japanese government has actively intervened in Taiwan Strait affairs and continuously increased its attention to the situation in the Taiwan Strait in recent years. Some conservative politicians in Japan often make inappropriate remarks and take corresponding actions on the Taiwan question, seriously disrupting the stability of order in the Asia-Pacific region. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once claimed that if something happens to Taiwan, it will happen to Japan and the Japan-US alliance. In August 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is currently serving as Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), visited China's Taiwan region. Aso became the highest-level Japanese politician to visit the island after Japan and China's Taiwan region "severed diplomatic relations". Aso once again made remarks on the Taiwan question on January 10, falsely claiming that "something happens to Taiwan" will likely become a crisis related to Japan's survival.
Some Japanese politicians are keen to intervene in the affairs of the Taiwan region and hype up topics such as "something happens to Taiwan" for various reasons.
First, they want to check and balance the rise of China and ease pressure on the East China Sea region. Japan intends to increase diplomatic and public pressure on China on the Taiwan question, using the so-called "China threat theory" narrative such as "Today's Ukraine, tomorrow's East Asia (Taiwan)" to stigmatize China and contain the intensity of action by the Chinese mainland on the Taiwan question. At the same time, Japanese politicians intend to focus China's main energy on Taiwan affairs by hyping up the Taiwan question, thereby constraining China's efforts to maintain national territorial and maritime security in the East China Sea.
Second, they want to win the support of Japanese conservatives. After signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan implemented colonial rule over Taiwan for 50 years until Japan's defeat and surrender in 1945. After World War II, conservative forces in Japan have always held a wrong "Taiwan plot". Even after Japan and the Taiwan region severed so-called diplomatic relations, Japanese conservative politicians still maintained close ties with the Taiwan region, and there was even a so-called Taiwan Gang within the LDP. As Japan's rightward shift intensifies, the power of conservatism in Japan expands. To maintain and expand their political influence, some conservative politicians actively try to win over pro-Taiwan forces in Japan. Especially after the death of Shinzo Abe, Japanese conservative politicians such as Koichi Hagiuda and Hiroshige Seko actively visited Taiwan to compete for the Abe's political legacy, increased their attention and involvement in Taiwan affairs, and cheered for the separatist actions of "Taiwan independence" forces.
Third, they want to strengthen security capacity building and get rid of the constraints of the post-war system. Exaggerating security threats is an important means for the Japanese government to improve its security and defense capabilities. To weaken the opposition voices of pacifist forces, Japanese conservative politicians have tried their best to construct narratives such as "something happens to Taiwan" and even subjectively connected "something happens to Taiwan" with Japan's critical survival. They attempt to create a sense of urgency that Japan's security is at stake so that they can expand the Japanese people's support for the Japanese government's conservative policies, accelerate Japan's transformation into a war-capable country, and realize its long-cherished goal to get rid of the constraints of the post-war system.
Hyping up "something happens to Taiwan" by Japanese conservative politicians poses severe challenges to China-Japan relations and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region.
The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, and the four political documents between China and Japan are an important foundation for the long-term stability of China-Japan relations. These legally binding inter-state political documents have clear statements on the Taiwan question. Today, Japanese conservative politicians ignore the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and the actual situation of the current Taiwan question, continue to hype up topics such as "something happens to Taiwan", grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, and hinder the stable development of strategic, mutually beneficial China-Japan relations. At the same time, the Japanese government takes the opportunity to strengthen the process of security militarization and deepen minilateral security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, which increases the insecurity of relevant countries, expands the geographical scope of security dilemmas, and causes new challenges to the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.
Japanese politicians regard themselves as defenders of the "rule of law", but they continue to destroy the four legally binding political documents between China and Japan. The Japanese government prides itself on maintaining international order, but it constantly corresponds to the unilateral changes in the status quo by the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces on the Taiwan question, and it continues to undermine the post-World War II international order based on international treaties such as the Cairo Declaration. If Japan insists on tying China's internal affairs to Japan's so-called security, it will surely bring disastrous consequences to itself and the region.
(The author is a research assistant at the Institute of International Strategic Studies, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC (National Academy of Governance).)
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
