Three major political parties in Japan have included Taiwan among issues in their campaign platforms ahead of next month’s upper house elections.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) are among those vying for 125 seats in the House of Councilors in the July 10 vote.
The upper house of the Japanese Diet has 284 seats, about half of which are up for re-election every three years.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The CDP, the nation’s largest opposition party, has proposed to establish an international institution for security cooperation within the ASEAN Plus Three network to ensure that there is not “a Taiwan emergency,” it said.
ASEAN Plus Three refers to the 10 ASEAN member states plus China, Japan and South Korea.
The CDP also advocates for enhancing the quality of Japan’s national defense abilities.
The JIP proposes in its campaign platform to “establish a Japanese version of the [US’s] Taiwan Relations Act” to boost ties with Taiwan, and would negotiate a free-trade agreement.
The LDP also promises to strengthen Japan’s defenses, saying that many NATO members spend 2 percent of their GDP on national defense, a target also supported by the JIP.
The LDP last year said in its campaign for the House of Representatives — or lower house — that it would bolster cooperation with Taiwan, the US, Australia, India, Europe, ASEAN and Pacific island nations to realize a “free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
The party maintains the same stance in its campaign platforms for the upcoming upper house election.
As this is the first national election since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida assumed office last year, political observers have said that the results of the upper house elections would be viewed as an assessment of his administration.
The LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, hold 138 seats in the upper house, 69 of which are not up for election this year.
Kishida’s LDP is trying to maintain a majority of the upper house seats, which would require winning 56 seats, with Komeito contributing to the total.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS