She is very popular, very much more so with approval ratings 70%+
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I think the ramifications for Taiwan are huge.
Sanae Takaichiâs landslide election victory hands the nationalist prime minister the power to beef up Japanâs military and revise its pacifist constitution, which voters now agree is no longer fit for purpose.
The ambitious agenda of Takaichi, whose party won an absolute majority in Japanâs parliament on Sunday, also has implications for Australia and other allies, as Chinaâs military assertiveness increases tensions in the region.
Takaichi sparked Chinaâs ire (and a wave of reprisals) in November after suggesting Japan could intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that Beijing claims is part of its territory.
Japanese voters backed Takaichiâs strong stance against China at the ballot box. With Chinaâs military activity intensifying around Taiwan and Japanâs south-western islands, North Korea accelerating its missile program, and doubts growing about US security guarantees, voters appear increasingly willing to set aside postwar restraint in favour of self-protection.
âIn the midst of a deteriorating regional military balance, fewer [Japanese] politicians are calling for restraint on national defence,â Sheila Smith, senior fellow for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said.
âToday virtually no opposition party is calling the government out on its aim of bolstering national security preparedness.â
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Sure, the last time Japan armed up they took Taiwan by force!
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They were given Taiwan.
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Better Japan than China! But seriously (even though Iâm partly serious), Japanâs now reduced restraint on national defense together with Takaichiâs suggestion that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan puts additional pressure on China to dedicate more resources to defense. I am reminded of the Soviet Union and how the Soviet economic system could not sustainably support their extremely high level of defense spending (very, very high percentage of GDP), and how this was a contributing factor to their collapse. I realize the parallels are not at all exact, but still, I believe that rising military pressure, while it wonât in itself create Chinaâs problems, will accelerate its present demographic and economic challenges. So again, the ramifications of Takaichiâs election victory for Taiwan are huge, in my opinion.
BTW, on a related note, Trump also wants to increase military spending to 1.5 trillion USD in 2027 from the current 900 billion USD.
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Not because they asked nicely, there was a warâŚ
Yeah but Taiwan wasnât really invaded by forceâŚtechnically speaking. The Japanese were fighting the Qing Dynasty.
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Technically speaking, I didnât use the word âinvadedâ!
Taiwan declared independence, even if just as a ploy to gain international intervention by Qing loyalists, and fought the modern Japanese army for almost half a year, during which the Qing loyalist leaders fled before the fighting, the armies recruited from China did more harm to the cause, and most of the battles were fought by untrained Taiwanese militias.
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Iâm happy sheâs a strong pro-Taiwan hawk, but she really pisses off the Chinese every time she opens her mouth. I hope she doesnât incite them into anything.
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The mere existence of Taiwan makes China foam at the mouth.
China does not want Japan to interfere if they invade as it changes the success window significantly
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ROC was China when Japan invaded. If it werenât for Japan, ROC would probably still be in control of China.
The Nanjing massacre happened while Nanjing was the capital of ROC and the whole war weakened ROC to the point it lost the civil war.
Yeah, Japan was run by a-holes after the army wrestled control of the government away from the bureaucrats and the navy in the 1930s.
That Japan ceased to exist in 1945, and since then has been nothing but helpful towards Taiwan and China.
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Yes blame the person standing up to the bully for the bullying. I disagree with your logic.
Anyway this is good news, I hope she sticks to her guns.
Its going to be tough with Canada, UK and Europe doing the opposite the fâing fools.
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âToday virtually no opposition party is calling the government out on its aim of bolstering national security preparedness.â
Sounds good. Now if we could only get that to happen in TaiwanâŚ.
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Qing was China when Japan rearmed after Meiji restoration, after which they got Taiwan
If you consider doing lots of business with China and never doing FONOPS being tough, Canada/UK/Europe are much softer than Japan
Iâm a fan of the âSpeak softly and carry a big stick; you will go farâ approach.
Some word play in Southern Taiwan about Prime Minister Takaichiâs election victory:
In the past few days, Google Translate has been translating, from Chinese to English, the family name of Japanâs Prime Minister Takaichi (éŤĺ¸) as âKaohsiung Cityâ (éŤĺ¸ is a shortcut for éŤéĺ¸), so of course I am not surprised to hear Kaohsiung Mayor Chen saying âKaohsiung supports Takaichiâ (ăéŤĺ¸ăćşéŤĺ¸).
Source: @pybaubry.bsky.social on Bluesky
Guy
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Depends if we are talking about ROC or Taiwan (the island). ROC didnât exist during the first Sino War. During the Second Sino war, ROC was in control of China. When Japan lost the war, Taiwan (the island) was given back to ROC (which was the ruler of China but on verge of collapse due to the war).