Hundreds of Japanese citizens took to the streets on Tuesday evening, gathering outside the prime minister’s office to demand that PM Sanae Takaichi retract her recent comments on Taiwan 🪧
Protesters waved banners reading “Takaichi, withdraw your statement,” “Takaichi administration unacceptable” and “Retract the remarks, resign now,” voicing their anger at what they see as risky rhetoric.
Takaichi’s comments hinted at possible military involvement in the Taiwan Strait (the narrow sea channel between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan), setting off a wave of domestic and international criticism 🌏
Hiroji Yamashiro, permanent secretary of the Social Democratic Party’s National Union, told CMG these remarks “violate international law and Japan’s 1972 commitments to the government of the People’s Republic of China,” calling them “incomprehensible” and “infuriating.”
He stressed that the Taiwan question is an internal affair of China and warned that any military action would amount to aggression, risk counterattacks, and drag Japan into an unwanted conflict – clashing with its pacifist constitution ✊
Yamashiro also urged Japan to face its wartime history and avoid repeating past mistakes through inflammatory political rhetoric.
As protests grow and global voices weigh in, all eyes are on whether PM Takaichi will backtrack or stand by her stance – a choice that could redefine Japan’s role in regional peace efforts 🤔
Reference(s):
Takaichi's Taiwan remarks spark domestic protests, global criticism
cgtn.com
