A former Japanese minister who nearly won last year’s race to lead Japan’s ruling party yesterday called on Japan, Taiwan and other regional democratic partners to form a “quasi-security alliance” given the unpredictability of the US.
Speaking at a seminar in Taipei, Sanae Takaichi, a senior Japanese Diet member who most recently served as Japanese minister of state for economic security from 2022 to last year, said that many Japanese have a false belief that the US would unconditionally defend Japan based on the 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty.
Since US President Donald Trump returned to office earlier this year, Japanese have seen Trump make contradictory statements on the treaty on a daily basis, leading them to second-guess if the US would come to Japan’s aid when needed, Takaichi said, adding that she has always called on Japan to beef up its self-defense capabilities.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and Japan are facing similar situations, and both need to strengthen their respective self-defense capabilities, she said.
One cannot rely on a single country alone for protection in the current global environment, and while each country is engaging in strengthening its own defense capabilities, like-minded allies should also join forces to face challenges, she said.
Taiwan, Japan, Europe, Australia and India and other countries upholding democratic values should form a “quasi-security alliance” to protect each other’s security and safety, she said.
She was referring to the fact that since taking office, Trump has complained several times about the US-Japan Security Treaty as “one-sided,” most recently earlier this month as both allies were about to engage in trade negotiations.
The treaty grants Washington the right to have bases on Japanese soil for US troops and commits it to come to the defense of Tokyo if it is attacked.
In addition to defense cooperation, Takaichi also called on Taiwan and Japan to jointly bolster their economic security, including by building strategic partnerships in the semiconductor supply chain and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Takaichi arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a three-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Her delegation also includes Japanese House of Representatives members Hitoshi Kikawada and Masanao Ozaki, as well as House of Councilors member Kei Sato, it said.
The group earlier yesterday met with President William Lai (賴清德), Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other Taiwanese lawmakers across party lines, Takaichi said.
Takaichi has been a member of the Japanese House of Representatives for the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2005.
She was one of the frontrunners in the LDP’s presidential race last year, but she ultimately lost in a tense run-off to fellow Diet member Shigeru Ishiba, who became prime minister.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS