China’s People’s Daily newspaper said on Friday that Japan is trying to revive its wartime militarism and risks repeating the mistakes of history with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statements on Taiwan.
Takaishi sparked a diplomatic dispute with Beijing with his statements in Parliament last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and lead to a military response from Tokyo.
China’s top diplomat in Osaka shared a news article about Takaishi’s remarks about Taiwan on
Since then, Chinese state media has focused on a series of scathing editorials and commentary criticizing Takaishi, given persistent grievances over Japan’s wartime past and China’s extreme sensitivity about anything related to Taiwan.
The ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper said in its commentary that Takaishi’s remarks were by no means an “isolated political rant.”
The commentary, published under the pseudonym “Zhong Sheng”, which means “Voice of China” and which is often used to express his views on foreign policy, said that Japan’s right wing is trying to break free from the constraints of the country’s post-World War II constitution and seek the status of a military power.
The newspaper added: “In recent years, Japan has been racing aggressively on the path to military reinforcement.”
“From frequent visits to Yasukuni Shrine, to denial of the Nanjing Massacre, to aggressively promoting the Chinese threat theory, every step Takaichi takes traces the ancient footprints of historical guilt, trying to whitewash a history of aggression and revive militarism.”
World War II, and the Japanese invasion of China that preceded it in 1931, remain a source of ongoing tension between Beijing and Tokyo.
The People’s Daily said that Japanese militarism has historically used so-called “survival crises” as pretexts for external aggression, including the Mukden Incident in 1931, which was the pretext that Japan used to invade Chinese Manchuria.
He asked, “Now that a similar speech has been revived, does Japan intend to repeat the mistakes of history?” She added the paper.
Beijing claims that Taiwan is democratically governed as its own and has not ruled out using force to control the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims and says only its people can decide the island’s future.
Taiwan is located just over 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Japanese territory, and the waters surrounding the island provide a vital sea route for trade on which Tokyo depends. Japan also hosts the largest contingent of the US military overseas.
Meanwhile, Japan’s NTV reported on Friday that the Chinese embassy in Tokyo had instructed its staff to avoid going out over concerns about growing anti-China sentiment.
At a regular press conference, Japanese government chief spokesman Minoru Kihara reiterated the country’s position on Taiwan, telling reporters that Tokyo hopes to reach a peaceful solution to the issue through dialogue.
‘Self-directed farce’
China has also escalated its rhetoric against what it describes as “hard-line” separatists for Taiwanese independence.
On Friday, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council criticized a lawmaker from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Puma Chen, who visited Berlin earlier this week. Shen said China was threatening to try to arrest him while he was abroad, but he was not afraid.
“Taiwan independence advocates have already reached the end of their days and have reached a dead end,” office spokesman Chen Binhua said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“The farce of covert and self-directed visits by the likes of Puma Chen and the DPP authorities only exposes their inner panic at the punitive sword hanging high above them,” Chen added.
A day earlier, Chinese police issued a wanted notice and offered a $35,000 reward for the arrest of two Taiwanese social media influencers whom they accused of “separatism,” which Taipei says is an attempt by China to strike fear into the hearts of Taiwanese.
(tags for translation) Japan-Taiwan tensions
