Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not retract her remarks on a Taiwan contingency involving Japan as she was grilled by opposition party leaders in their first party leaders’ debate in the Diet on Nov.

Japan moves closer to openly linking Taiwan’s security to its own as China responds with thinly veiled threats

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she hadn’t planned to get into any details of a Taiwan contingency in recent remarks that have been fiercely criticized by China.

Her recent comments do not represent a new commitment for Japan to defend Taiwan – or a departure from previous policy.

Analysts say Beijing will continue to push for a retraction, but some argue that the Japanese leader cannot risk a domestic backlash.

Trump is positioning himself as a go‑between in the escalating China‑Japan standoff over Taiwan, holding back‑to‑back calls with Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as tensions spike over Tokyo’s tougher line and planned missile deployments near Taiwan.

The phone call comes after US president spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan - Anadolu Ajansı