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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
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The Taiwan Strait may be the next major diplomatic problem after China’s clampdown on Hong Kong, according to former Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida, one of at least two candidates likely to vie to become the next premier.
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Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday, just before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga made a surprise announcement that he was stepping down, Kishida said Japan should seek to cooperate with Taiwan and countries that share its values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, as authoritarian countries wield more power.
“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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