What Japan should do to stabilize Sino-Japanese relations

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks describing a Taiwan contingency as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan have "triggered the worst crisis in Sino-Japanese relations" in more than a decade, according to Mike Mochizuki, a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, in an article published on Responsible Statecraft on Nov 26.

Mochizuki cited former deputy foreign minister Hitoshi Tanaka's recommendation that, to help defuse this crisis, Prime Minister Takaichi should "retract her Diet remarks and apologize for going beyond the Japanese policy and practice of not commenting on specific hypothetical scenarios related to survival-threatening situations".

He further suggested that Japan should reassure China by offering "a more robust articulation of its one-China policy". Rather than merely reiterating its adherence to the 1972 normalization communique, Japan should "explicitly say that it does not support Taiwan's independence".

Mochizuki also argued that Japan should make clear that "it does not consider Taiwan to be a sovereign country" and should confirm that its actions will remain "consistent with its long-held strictly defensive defense doctrine".