Japan has no moral or legal right to 'defend' Taiwan

New Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks that hypothetic armed actions in the Taiwan region could trigger a military response from Tokyo are not just dangerously provocative but fundamentally perverse.

Such a political stunt has no place in shaping security. Instead, it reduces the region's stability to hanging by a thread.

The statements, made with little regard for the catastrophic consequences of a potential war, reveal a disturbing willingness to drag Japan – and by extension, the entire Asia-Pacific region – into a conflict that serves no legitimate national interest.

A reckless fantasy

The Taiwan question is not a simple matter of "democracy" versus "authoritarianism;" it is about sovereignty versus secession. By framing the situation as a binary moral struggle, Takaichi ignores the reality that the one-China principle is an international consensus and a basic norm governing international relations.

The international community, including the United Nations, acknowledges the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. Japan, as a responsible member of the global community, should not recklessly undermine this consensus.

Moreover, the idea that Japan has a moral "obligation" to "defend" the Taiwan region is a piece of dangerous fiction. Japan's own history is stained by imperialist aggression, including its brutal occupation of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. To now position itself as a defender of Taiwan's "democracy" is not only hypocritical but deeply offensive to the people of Taiwan, who do not need Tokyo to speak for them.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It is also the 80th anniversary of the restoration of Taiwan. The valiant Chinese people defeated the Japanese invaders after 14 years of devastating battle. Today, 1.4 billion Chinese will not brook any interference in China's reunification cause.

Risks of escalation

The idea that Japan could intervene militarily in such a scenario is not just morally bankrupt, it is strategically reckless.

By openly threatening military intervention, Japan is escalating tensions in a region already fraught with geopolitical instability. A conflict between Japan and China would not be a limited skirmish; it would likely draw in other powers, including the United States, and could quickly spiral into a large-scale conflict with unimaginable consequences.

The risks are not just geopolitical. Japan's economy is deeply intertwined with China's. A military conflict would devastate both countries, leading to massive economic disruption and long-term instability. The people of Japan, who have lived through the horrors of war, should not be subject to the whims of leaders who seem more interested in grandstanding than in protecting their citizens.

There is a broader reputational cost. A leadership that publicly signals willingness to escalate regional tensions jeopardizes allies who rely on predictable, steady diplomacy.

Takaichi's remarks have drawn harsh criticism even from Japan. The Okinawa Times, quoting a Japanese government source, asserted that "this should not have been stated from the position of prime minister."

"Japan should respect the fact that Taiwan is part of China," former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said on X, adding that Japan should not interfere in China's internal affairs.

A hypocritical foreign policy

Takaichi's remarks were made against the backdrop of rising right-wing sentiments in Japan where certain right-wing politicians, in recent years, have been attempting to openly deny the history of aggression in wartime, pushing to revise the pacifist constitution, and emphasizing the right to collective self-defense.

Takaichi's Taiwan-related remarks, an attempt to satisfy the domestic appetite for moving the government to the right, expose the hypocrisy of Japan's foreign policy.

Article 9 of Japan's pacifist constitution renounces the nation's right to engage in war or to resort to military force to resolve international conflicts. This article is widely seen as a fundamental constraint on Japan's military endeavors.

But by declaring that military actions in the Taiwan region could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, Takaichi is paving the way for Japan's Self-Defense Forces to exercise the right to collective self-defense, which is allowed, according to legislation, in situations recognized as "survival-threatening."

"If a 'survival-threatening situation' is recognized, it would lead to a defense mobilization. This is a judgment equivalent to entering a war, and past cabinets have been cautious in making such statements," Hiroshi Ogushi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said, demanding Takaichi revoke the remarks.

Hatoyama also commented, "The smaller the dog, the louder it barks."

By threatening military intervention in the Taiwan region, Takaichi is not defending democracy, she is risking war. By ignoring the complexities of the Taiwan question, she is undermining the principles of diplomacy and restraint that have kept the region relatively stable for decades.

Japan should be a force for peace, not a source of provocation. The entire Asia-Pacific region deserves better than leaders who are willing to gamble away peace and progress for the sake of political grandstanding.