More than 90 percent of Japanese believe Japan should prepare for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a Nikkei poll released on Monday found.
On how to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, 41 percent of respondents said Japan should improve its capability of responding to a conflict in Taiwan by revising its laws, while 50 percent said the country should prepare within the existing legal framework and 4 percent said preparations are not needed.
In addition, 56 percent of respondents approved of a proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party-led government to increase the defense budget to 1 percent of Japan’s GDP, while 31 percent disapproved, marking little change from a poll last month.
Photo: AFP
About 60 percent of respondents agreed with preserving a military capability to strike back at an enemy — twice as many as the 30 percent who opposed the notion.
Under current Japanese law, Japan may exercise the right to self-defense if it or a close ally, such as the US, came under military attack.
However, Tokyo lacks the legal authority to build up stockpiles or render other military assistance to its allies unless the emergency is formally recognized, Yoji Koda, former commander-in-chief of the Japanese Self-Defense Fleet, was cited as saying.
Russia amassed forces near the borders of Ukraine before invading, which suggests a similar military buildup would precede a military invasion of Taiwan, he said.
That Japan “has no law that allows the US military to temporarily stockpile huge amounts of fuel and ammunition during normal times” might impede Japan’s ability to provide logistical support for US operations throughout the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
The poll, conducted by Nikkei Research from Friday through Sunday by telephone among Japanese men and women aged 18 or older, drew 935 valid samples and had a response rate of 41.4 percent.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS