The government of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga approved the document. The document also warned that North Korea “posed a serious and urgent threat to Japan’s security” and criticized China for “lack of transparency” in military affairs.
Japan is becoming more and more outspoken China’s maritime expansion And the military assembled to publicly protest the existence of Chinese ships around the disputed islands called the Senkaku Islands in Tokyo and the Diaoyu Islands in Beijing.
But after recent attempts to improve diplomatic relations, China is also very worried about the economic impact of angering Beijing, its largest trading partner.
In April of this year, Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden emphasized the “importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Although these remarks are cautious, this is the first time a Japanese leader has issued a statement on Taiwan together with the US president since the allies changed their recognition from Taipei to Beijing in the 1970s.
According to local media reports, China reacted angrily to Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso’s remarks earlier this month, saying that if Taiwan is invaded by Beijing, Japan will “must defend Taiwan”.
