Nearly 60 percent of Japanese agreed with the idea of their country offering logistical support to the US if the US had to assist Taiwan militarily in a showdown with China, according to the results of a Japanese poll released yesterday.
In the survey conducted by the Japanese Asahi Shimbun daily on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, 57 percent of the 3,000 respondents said Japan’s self-defense forces should provide transportation and other logistical support to the US military if war were to break out in the Taiwan Strait.
Only 30 percent of respondents opposed the idea.
In a parallel poll conducted in the US by Harris Interactive for the newspaper from Dec. 2 to Dec. 6, for the same question, 65 percent of the 1,009 respondents said Japanese self-defense forces should assist the US logistically, while 23 percent said there was no such need.
MILITARY THREAT
The Asahi survey in Japan also found that an increasing number of Japanese feel that China’s military poses a threat to their country. About 32 percent of respondents felt that way in this year’s poll, up from 13 percent in 2005 and 8 percent in 2001.
North Korea was perceived as Japan’s biggest military threat, with almost half (49 percent) of the respondents citing it as such.
About 72 percent of the Japanese respondents felt Japan should strengthen cooperation with the US, and 61 percent of the Americans felt their country should do the same with Japan, according to the surveys.
The polls also found that 51 percent of the Japanese respondents and 55 percent of the Americans surveyed thought their countries should beef up cooperation with China.
On which country is more -important to the Japanese — China or the US — more than two-thirds (68 percent) of Japanese said the US, compared with a mere 15 percent who pointed to China.
However, when Americans were asked which country was more important to them, half of the US respondents named China and only 33 percent said Japan.
As many as 78 percent of Japanese respondents said the -Japan-US security treaty should be maintained and 68 percent of the Americans agreed.
With China boosting its military capability, 48 percent of those surveyed in Japan said their country should increase its military presence in its southwestern islands to respond to the threat, while 36 percent opposed the suggestion.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
RSS