Hundreds of Japanese protestors demand PM Takaichi retract Taiwan remarks

Tokyo: Hundreds of Japanese people held a protest in front of the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous remarks on Taiwan and offer an explanation and apology.

People started to arrive at the rally around 7 p.m. local time, holding signs with slogans such as “Retract remarks, oppose war,” “This is all because of Takaichi,” and “Takaichi step down,” and shouted out slogans like “Prevent the resurgence of militarism,” Xinhua news agency reported.

At a Diet meeting on November 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland’s “use of force on Taiwan” could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait. Takaichi later insisted that her remarks were in line with the government’s longstanding view and refused to retract the remarks.

Several protesters at the scene demanded that Takaichi take responsibility for her remarks regarding Taiwan and resign as prime minister.

Protester Haruko Oki told Xinhua that she was “very shocked” when she saw Takashi making the statement in the Diet on television, which was “extremely inappropriate” and “carried a dangerous political bias.”

“We don’t want someone like this to be prime minister,” Oki said, adding that the prime minister’s inappropriate remarks on such a sensitive matter raised concerns among ordinary citizens about her political leanings.

Protester Okahara told Xinhua that recently the number of Chinese visitors at many tourist attractions in Japan has decreased significantly, starting to hit the tourism industry.

“What exactly does Takaichi want to achieve? Why did she make such remarks that would provoke a neighboring country? It’s truly incomprehensible,” she said.

Okahara said that Takaichi should be held responsible for the diplomatic and economic consequences caused by her remarks. “She must sincerely apologize, retract her statement, and resign as prime minister. Such a person is not suitable for participating in politics.”

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan’s Social Democratic Party, also attended the rally. In an interview with Xinhua, she pointed out that Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan are pushing Japan toward war, and that “such a political stance is absolutely unacceptable!”

Fukushima emphasised that such remarks would only provoke the situation and exacerbate tensions, stressing that Japan should adhere to peaceful diplomacy and resolve regional tensions through dialogue and diplomatic means, rather than preparing for war or pushing for an escalation of regional tensions.

Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks have drawn strong criticism from legal scholars, anti-war groups and opposition parties at home.

Japanese public opinion pointed out that Takaichi’s statement violated the commitment made by the Japanese government in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Statement and clearly contradicted Japan’s long-standing foreign policy towards China, which was bound to cause unnecessary tension in the region.

IANS