As long as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is still in power in Japan, there would be no fundamental changes in Taiwan-Japan relations, experts said yesterday, following Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement that he would not run for re-election as leader of the party.
The LDP, which has always supported strengthening cooperation with Taiwan, is unlikely to change in that regard, Institute for Policy Research senior consultant Chen Wen-jia (陳文甲) said.
“Especially as competition between the US and China intensifies, Taiwan-Japan cooperation would become increasingly important, particularly cooperation within the framework of the US-Japan alliance,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
During his time in office, Kishida promoted Japan’s participation in the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy and strengthened the Japan-US alliance, he said.
“Kishida has promoted regional peace and stability within the framework of multilateral cooperation with Australia, India and other Indo-Pacific countries,” he said.
He has also maintained a tough stance on security issues related to the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, severely criticizing China’s expansionist behavior, and supporting the strengthening of Taiwan’s international status and defense capabilities, he said.
Regarding Kishida’s replacement, reports have suggested possibilities include former LDP secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba, Japanese Minister of Digital Affairs Taro Kono and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa.
“Regardless of who takes over, Japan’s security and defense policies would not change much,” Institute for National Policy Research deputy director Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁) said.
“Even if Kono, who has a good relationship with China, becomes prime minister, Japan’s security policy would not deviate from its current course,” Kuo said.
Japan’s current defense and security policies were established under the leadership of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, and subsequent leaders Yoshihide Suga and Kishida followed the same policy direction, he said.
That direction was made concrete by Kishida after the Japanese government passed the latest version of its National Security Strategy and three other security documents at a cabinet meeting in December 2022, he said.
Japan has faced considerable security pressure over the past few years due to China’s activities in the East China Sea, as well as joint naval exercises involving the Chinese and Russian navies in the vicinity, he said.
“China’s military actions around the Taiwan Strait do not only impact Taiwan, Japan also feels the same pressure, because Japan relies heavily on shipping routes in the waters surrounding Taiwan,” he said.
Therefore, there would be opportunities to make progress in promoting Taiwan-Japan security cooperation, he said.
“Taiwan should take the initiative to strengthen contacts with the new Japanese government through official and unofficial efforts,” he said. “The government should seek to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, intelligence exchanges, and increase scientific, technological, economic and trade cooperation with Japan.”
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