BEIJING, Dec. 8 — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ignited a significant diplomatic crisis with China in early November when she publicly characterized a potential Taiwan contingency as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. This assertion, which Beijing views as a profound challenge to its core sovereignty, has prompted a strong, multifaceted response from the People’s Republic of China, including formal protests, the summoning of the Japanese ambassador, and communications to the United Nations Secretary-General. Amid scrutiny from some Western media outlets that have labeled Beijing’s actions disproportionate, analysts argue that China’s reaction is necessitated by the legal, historical, and strategic risks inherent in the Prime Minister’s remarks.
Challenging Post-War International Order
Takaichi’s statements are considered alarming from both a legal and historical perspective. China’s recovery of Taiwan was a definitive outcome of World War II, fundamentally shaping the post-war international framework. Legally binding instruments, including the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, and Japan’s 1945 Instrument of Surrender, explicitly affirm Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
Furthermore, Japan formally recognized the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China in the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, a commitment reaffirmed in the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Experts assert that Takaichi’s claims constitute a serious infringement of these bilateral and international commitments.
Novel Threat of Military Intervention
The Prime Minister’s remarks on Taiwan are viewed by Beijing as a dangerous escalation, marking the first instance since Japan’s 1945 defeat that a Japanese leader, in an official capacity, has tied a Taiwan crisis to Japan’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense. This maneuver signals a dramatic shift: it is seen as the first time Japan has broadcast ambitions for military intervention in the Taiwan question and explicitly issued a veiled threat of force against China, challenging Beijing’s fundamental interests.
These comments arrive during a sensitive historical period—the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. For the Chinese public, haunted by the estimated 35 million casualties suffered during the 14-year invasion and half-century colonial rule in Taiwan, Takaichi’s position is viewed not merely as a policy statement but as a blatant provocation.
Political Strategy or Historical Revisionism?
Beijing views the sustained tension in bilateral relations not as a failure to move past history, but as Japan’s consistent evasion of historical responsibility. Repeated visits to the contentious Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined, coupled with the recent aggressive posturing on Taiwan, suggest to critics a troubling trend: a nostalgia for Japan’s colonial history and an attempt to weaponize the Taiwan question for domestic political gain.
Political observers note that right-wing elements in Japan are leveraging exaggerated external threats, particularly from China, to justify an expansion of Japan’s military capabilities and aspirations to become a “normal country” capable of overseas deployment. Moreover, this confrontational foreign policy performance may serve to distract from internal political pressures facing the Takaichi administration, including domestic dissatisfaction and fracturing political alliances.
Beijing’s Undeniable Red Line
China has thus far maintained a strategy of coordinated, non-military countermeasures to defend its legal rights. These responses clearly delineate to the international community that the Taiwan question is an internal matter, directly impacting China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
These countermeasures serve a dual purpose: they firmly challenge attempts by any external forces to undermine the one-China principle and aggressively deter the kind of “salami-slicing” tactics that probe Beijing’s resolve. The central takeaway from Beijing’s firm stance is unambiguous: the Taiwan question constitutes the nation’s foremost and unyielding red line, one that must not be crossed by any party.