On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the government announced plans to lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, turning a “stumbling stone” between Taiwan and Japan into a “stepping stone.”
The lifting of the ban is expected to enhance Taiwan-Japan relations.
In the midst of a cold winter in Japan, Taiwan’s action is like “sending charcoal in snowy weather,” as the Chinese proverb goes. It has warmed the hearts of tens of thousands of those affected by the nuclear power plant disaster who have yet to return to their homes, and repaid Japan’s generous donations of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan in the Year of the Ox.
As the Year of the Tiger unfolds, it is also a gift to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration as it combats the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the emergence of COVID-19, two pro-Taiwan Japanese prime ministers — Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga — have resigned. Abe is the longest-serving Japanese prime minister and the friendliest to Taiwan. Three generations of the Abe family held key posts in the Japanese government — three prime ministers and two top officials — all of whom were close friends of Taiwan.
As Abe’s successor, Suga supported Taiwan without hesitation. During his term of less than one year, he not only donated five batches of vaccines when Taiwan needed them most, but also spoke up for Taiwan at summits with the US and Europe, as well as adding the phrase “importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” to the concluding communique at the G7 summit in June.
These two friends of Taiwan were unfortunately obliged to step down for various reasons, including their handling of the pandemic.
Since taking office in October, Kishida has waffled back and forth between the US and China, raising doubts in Washington. Despite his eagerness to visit the US and clarify his position, Washington has not responded.
To resolve this, a farsighted Abe in December said: “A Taiwanese emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance.” This is similar to US President Joe Biden’s likely intentional “slips of the tongue,” as he twice pledged in public to defend Taiwan if China attacked, and was later corrected by top US officials.
Such statements have transformed the trilateral Taiwan-Japan-US partnership from “strategic ambiguity” into “strategic clarity.”
Although Abe stepped down as Japanese prime minister, he is a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, as well as leader of the largest political faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), so he plays a decisive role in Japanese politics.
Abe’s December remarks kept Kishida from leaning too much toward China, while also taking a peek at the cards held by the US. His words have so far not provoked any protest in Japan or the US, showing that his bid to bring Taiwan, Japan and the US together was not in vain.
Under pressure from an enemy, “a distant relative is not as good as a near neighbor,” the saying goes. Today, this can be seen in the bold words of Abe: “A Taiwanese emergency is a Japanese emergency.”
Taiwan should see that the differences between the governing and opposition parties are insignificant. On the matter of right and wrong, Taiwanese should unite and move forward together, now that the government has announced an end to the ban on Fukushima food imports.
At a difficult time when the pandemic is still rampant in Japan, Taiwan could display magnanimity by saying that “a Japanese emergency is a Taiwanese emergency,” and putting the slogan “Taiwan can help” into practice. As the saying goes: “The more people you help, the more successful you become.” Courtesy demands reciprocity; this is a basic principle of being neighborly.
Wang Hui-sheng is chief director of the Kisai Ladies’ and Children’s Hospital in Japan.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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