No change to stance of building ‘constructive’ ties with China, says Japan’s Takaichi

TOKYO: Japan’s stance on building “constructive, stable ties” with China will not change, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Friday (November 21), as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.

AI Brief

Takaichi says Japan seeks constructive, stable relations with China despite tensions.
Diplomatic spat escalated after her comments on possible military response to Taiwan attack.
She maintains stance while preparing for G20 summit in South Africa.

“President Xi and I confirmed the broad direction of comprehensively promoting a strategic, mutually beneficial relationship and building a constructive and stable relationship. There is absolutely no change in this stance,” Takaichi told the media in Tokyo on Friday, before she was scheduled to fly out to attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.

A diplomatic spat between China and Japan has intensified since Takaichi told parliament on November 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

When asked by reporters if Takaichi’s earlier comments that a Taiwan contingency could constitute “an existential crisis” for Japan, she said that such a label was for the government to decide based on “all available information” in the given circumstance.