At a critical moment in the US-China confrontation, Nikkei Asia took a bold leap — visiting Taiwan to conduct an interview with President William Lai (賴清德), and publishing a rare and extensive report on Tuesday. Other than to echo Lai’s policy of staying firmly rooted in Taiwan, and expanding global presence and marketing worldwide, this interview served two main purposes.
The first is one domestic in nature. Nikkei Asia aims to align with the strong sentiment among the Japanese public of supporting Taiwan and remaining suspicious of China. Interviewing Lai, Taiwan’s pro-Japan president, could help to build a bipartisan consensus in Japan to support Taiwan — something that could help boost the low approval ratings of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet. It also allows Japan to better understand and accommodate Taiwan’s urgent needs, thereby fostering an atmosphere of a shared purpose and laying the foundation for deeper cooperation between the two countries in the future.
The second purpose is diplomatic. By providing Lai with a platform, Japanese media indirectly expressed a message to the US and the rest of the world: Japan and Taiwan share a common destiny.
As the US-Japan alliance strengthens its policies and cooperation with regard to Taiwan, this move could lead to further substantive cooperation between Taiwan, Japan and the US.
This unprecedented interview not only highlighted Japan’s strong recognition of Lai’s political stance and international role, but also garnered significant global attention. In the interview, Lai made several clear-cut statements on Taiwan-Japan relations, US-Taiwan relations, US-China rivalry and the Taiwan-China situation.
Behind this interview was a strong political intent. It was more than just an interview — it was a diplomatic and strategic signal between Taiwan and Japan. It reflects the comprehensive deepening of the two countries’ relationship, further highlighting Taiwan’s indispensable and central role in Indo-Pacific strategy.
With the Japanese media as his conduit, Lai also took advantage of the opportunity to promote Taiwan’s plans to leverage its production and manufacturing capabilities to establish a “non-red” global semiconductor supply chain partnership for democratic countries. Given Taiwan’s sheer strength in the global semiconductor industry, there is every reason to believe that such a vision would be realized.
Wang Hui-sheng is chief director of the Kisei Ladies’ and Children’s Hospital in Japan, and a founding member of the East Asian Research Institute.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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