Japanese lawmakers have urged its government to prepare for a Taiwan contingency, Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported yesterday, adding that it is high time for Japan and Taiwan to deepen security cooperation.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s Taiwan Policy Project Team held a meeting on Tuesday, during which members exchanged views on the results of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections on Saturday based on reports provided by Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, the newspaper reported.
The team “welcomed the continuation of the path” taken by president-elect William Lai (賴清德), who is to lead the Democratic Progressive Party to a historic third term, it said.
Photo: AFP
Due to uncertain factors such as the US presidential election in November and the economic situation in China, whether a “Taiwan contingency” might occur is still unpredictable, Japanese House of Representatives member and team leader Keisuke Suzuki said.
As Taiwan continues to face pressures from China, Japan should consider all possible situations and “do our best to protect the people,” NHK quoted Suzuki as saying.
Suzuki urged the Japanese government to draw up concrete measures to evacuate Japanese nationals if conflict in the Taiwan Strait breaks out, it said.
The team hoped to proceed with discussions with the Japanese government, including regarding securing sea-lane transportation routes, evacuation plans for residents in Okinawa, the Japanese prefecture closest to Taiwan, as well as for Japanese nationals residing in Taiwan, it said.
Meanwhile, Nihon Keizai Shimbun senior editor Kosaka Tetsuro on Wednesday said that Lai’s victory marked a “good opportunity” for Japan and Taiwan to deepen cooperation on security and military matters.
Some Japanese security officials hoped that the two sides could work closer on military intelligence as Taiwan has warning and surveillance radars that can detect ballistic missiles launched by North Korea, he said.
Fostering close ties with Taiwanese authorities and the Taiwanese military during peacetime would enable Japan to more smoothly evacuate Japanese from Taiwan in the event of an emergency, he said.
He also suggested that there be an increase in security staff at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei and that if a crisis arose, Japan should send liaison officers to communicate with the Taiwanese military headquarters.
Taiwan would also be able to benefit from deeper cooperation with Japan, which could provide air bases for emergency use for Taiwan’s Air Force if its bases were damaged by Chinese missile attacks, he said.
In other news, Taiwanese private donations for earthquake relief in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture have reached more than NT$450 million (US$14.25 million), the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
The ministry initiated a donation program on Jan. 5 after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the Noto region in the prefecture on Jan. 1.
The program has received 120,653 donations, totaling more than NT$450.76 million as of Wednesday, the ministry said.
The program’s accounts are to close at the end of today and all donations are to be handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for disaster relief in Japan, it said.
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