June 6, 2022

Japan has continued walking down a dangerous path as a former Japanese prime minister recently urged allies to "force China to give up seizing the island of Taiwan" and its current prime minister is reportedly preparing to attend NATO summit amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis later this month, a move that is seen as to help NATO's expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. Experts warned that, as Tokyo constantly plays with fire over the Taiwan question, those reckless tactics could lead to severe consequences beyond damaging China-Japan relations, escalating confrontation and causing instability in the region, and Asian countries should remain vigilant over Japan reviving militarism.

Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, said at a forum on Sunday that Japan, the US and other allies "must create a situation that forces" the Chinese mainland to "give up seizing" the island of Taiwan "by force," and Japan-US, Japan-US-Taiwan or Quad relations should be strengthened, Abe was quoted as saying in media reports on Monday. 

It was not the first time Abe provoked over the Taiwan question, and he previously said that "any emergency over Taiwan would mean an emergency for Tokyo." The latest remark came as Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is reportedly preparing to attend the NATO summit later this month, who will also be the first Japanese leader to participate in the meeting of the military alliance. 

Read more: