Japan PM contender Fumio Kishida warns Taiwan is ‘next big diplomatic problem’
- ‘Looking at the situation with Hong Kong, I have a strong feeling that the Taiwan Strait will be the next big problem,’ the former foreign minister said
- He said Japan should seek to cooperate with Taiwan and countries that share its values of freedom and democracy
“Taiwan is at the frontline of the stand-off between the US and China,” he said. “Looking at the situation with Hong Kong and the Uygurs, I have a strong feeling that the Taiwan Strait will be the next big problem.”
He also said the 30 trillion yen (US$273 billion) demand gap should be borne in mind when considering the amount of economic stimulus needed. Kishida earlier this week said he wanted to spend tens of trillions of yen to soften the economic fallout from the pandemic and to have people cooperate with restrictions on their movements, which are intended to slow the spread of the virus.
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China calls Japan ‘irresponsible’ over Tokyo’s ‘sense of crisis’ for Taiwan Strait tensions
If he succeeds in taking over the top job, Kishida will need to manage a difficult relationship with China, his country’s biggest trading partner. Spooked by China’s clampdown in Hong Kong, senior Japanese lawmakers are increasingly speaking out about the importance of Taiwan to Japan’s security, sparking irritation from Beijing, which sees the island as part of its territory and frequently flies warplanes close by.
