Majority of Japanese worry about China invading Taiwan since Ukraine war, polls reveal
- People are concerned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could induce Beijing to make similar offensives
- Japan is in a territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea, and sees neighbour Taiwan’s security as closely linked to its own
Three in four Japanese people worry that China may take military action against Taiwan or a set of disputed islands in the East China Sea, according to a survey by the Kyodo News.
They are concerned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could induce China to make similar offensives, respondents said in the poll conducted over the weekend. Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration rose as some 86 per cent of respondents backed Japan’s decision to slap economic sanctions on Russia.
Signs are growing that the war in Ukraine has made the Japanese more mindful of security risks in Asia. Japan has been locked in a territorial dispute with China over a chain of islands in the East China Sea – called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China – and it generally sees neighbouring Taiwan’s security as closely linked to its own.
The outcome of a separate survey revealed on Saturday by the Mainichi newspaper and Saitama University’s Social Survey Research Centre showed nine in 10 Japanese are worried China may invade Taiwan.
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The Kishida cabinet’s decision to send Ukraine bulletproof vests was “reasonable,” 61 per cent of respondents to the Mainichi survey said. About 11 per cent said Japan does not need to help Ukraine militarily, but twice as many said their country should consider more actively providing the east European nation with military support.
In a recent two-day meeting between Kishida and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated. Kishida said that borders cannot be allowed to be changed by force and that Vladimir Putin’s attack on his neighbour was “serious” and has “shaken the global order”.
