China is on the rampage after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said what was neither new nor surprising – that Taiwan is immensely important to Japan, and that Japan may consider coming to Taiwan’s defense if China attacks.
In response, China’s Consul General in Osaka said on social media that PM Takaichi should be beheaded.
Beijing presumably agreed with its consul general and has doubled and tripled down on the verbal assaults.
As well, China is banning Japanese seafood imports and threatening to prohibit Chinese tourism to Japan and Chinese students from studying there.
Concocted outrage
China’s outrage is largely concocted and an excuse to turn up the heat on Japan.
Beijing will claim they’ve been provoked, and it’s Japan’s fault that China is doing whatever it’s doing.
But it is all pretextual. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doesn’t get “furious” and “angry.” No matter how many times the American press writes that it does. The CCP has about as much emotion as a great white shark. And a comparable appetite. Beijing is looking to isolate and destroy Takaichi by blaming her for pointing out Beijing’s aggressive designs and suggesting Japan should defend itself.
China’s objectives towards Japan have long been clear. Dominate Japan and take Japanese territory – while heaping humiliation on the Japanese in the process.
It’s “paying Japan back” for historical wrongs, Beijing will tell you. But even if Japan had never invaded China in the 1930s, the CCP would still be out for blood.
There is not enough room in the Asia-Pacific region for the PRC and a powerful, independent, democratic Japan. Like a fat man at a buffet, the Chinese Communists want it all.
How will Takaichi and Japan respond? Quietly seething (as is the Japanese nature) while continuing the defense buildup and moving even closer to the United States.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Photo: (©Sankei / Ataru Haruna
Fumbled first response
However, the Japanese fumbled the initial response to this Chinese attack.
China’s Osaka Consul General should have immediately been declared “persona non grata” and sent home.
Instead, Tokyo dispatched a foreign ministry envoy to Beijing to “explain” things.
He got creamed.
A video shared on Chinese SNS appeared to show Japan’s director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese foreign ministry, bowing to his Chinese counterpart.
His kowtow just guarantees more abuse from China, and the assaults are continuing nonstop.
Takaichi should find the person(s) who advised this course of action and show them the curb.
Japan ought to know better.
But China does have plenty of proxies in Japan’s political and business classes – and parts of the government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Indeed, the politician who raised the initial questions with Takaichi in the Diet, Katsuya Okada, has extensive family commercial interests in China. Back in 2012, while serving as deputy prime minister, he reportedly convinced the prime minister to cancel a tiny Japan Self-Defense Force amphibious exercise after China complained – and maybe to protect the family business?
Yet, China’s bullying behavior reinforces the dislike that a large majority of regular Japanese have toward China.
Public support for Takaichi
Indeed, public support for Takaichi has increased markedly. And the idea that Japan needs to defend itself is also regarded by most of the public as simple common sense.
One retired Japanese defense official commented:
“It feels like the cap on a bottle that has contained years of frustration among the Japanese people has suddenly popped. There’s been almost no criticism from the general public about Takaichi’s recent remarks.”
As for China’s threat to cut off tourists and students, most Japanese citizens will say “please do” and “thank you very much,” being glad to see fewer Chinese in their country.
The US reaction?
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass (©Sankei by Kotaro Hikono)
US Ambassador George Glass chided the PRC for its unseemly behavior.
That’s good, but Beijing doesn’t care. It will take more than that.
What it will take
For starters, make the defense of Japan and its southern islands a genuinely combined Japan-US affair.
It still isn’t, despite some recent progress.
Both nations’ militaries should have been conducting joint US-Japan naval and air patrols in the Nansei Shoto (southern islands, the Ryukyu chain) a decade ago so China would know it was taking on both the US and Japan ー and not Japan alone.
And Washington and other free nations need to provide total support to make up for Chinese economic pressure on Japan, while breaking economic dependencies on the PRC.
China perhaps figures Donald Trump will provide only lukewarm support for Japan since the president dearly wants a trade deal with PRC – and Beijing has also got the US over a “rare earths” barrel.
If Beijing is right, that’s dangerous.
What China is doing to Sanae Takaichi and Japan is an unprovoked and calculated attack on America’s main ally in the region, aiming to destroy Japan’s prime minister.
It’s also a test of American will.
If Japan and the US – individually or collectively – placate the PRC for what is in fact an act of war, Beijing will be emboldened. And we will eventually pay a high price for that – needing to “go kinetic” to defend ourselves, our friends and our interests, or else capitulate.
Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine officer and former US diplomat. He is the author of the book When China Attacks: A Warning To America.
This article was originally published by JAPAN Forward. It is republished with permission.
China, as a member of the injured party of WWII, can invoke the enemy states clause against Japan; meaning attack without UN authorization.
Little Grant either doesn’t get the memo that Trump isn’t interested in another neocon adventure, especially against a country as powerful as China, or perhaps he does, and this laughable article in the Japan Forward site is his away of angsting and whining about the reality. 😂 Go choke on Japanese radioactive seafood if so you wish, Grant.
it’s time for China to settle the score.
Wait for the best timing
🤣🤣🤣 Japan provoke China over Taiwan. Behind the scene is USA. 😜😜😜
The writer, and those young right wing supporters, have not studied or chosen to ignore the real history of Japanese aggression and its lasting impact on the Chinese people. Otherwise they wouldn’t have underestimated the resolve of the Chinese.
Another US AID running dog.
It is amazing that these idiotic brains are given space to mouth off nonsense in a column. This writer is utterly ignorant of history and turns everything on its head. He has no clue of the consequences of bestial Japanese imperialism’s history in China. It is the would-be fascist Japanese PM who provoked China. Taiwan was created by US imperialists who imposed the murderous warlord Chiang Kai-shek upon this sliver of Chinese territory. In any event, both US and its Japanese poodle are on their historic deathbed and are thrashing about in desperation.
absurd
Another refugee of the US AID.
You should worry about saving yourself before rescuing others. 泥菩萨过江自身难保。
Such ranting and misinformation. He surely has forgotten Pearl Harbor, and the fact that his own country was doing to Japan in mid 80s what they are now doing to China.
There is no way that China will let this go. ZERO chance.
This is only the beginning. China will escalate this all the way throughout 2026. China is now only waiting for right timing.
A journalist who write a one sided story
I don’t see how China taking over Taiwan will become an existential/security threat to Japan?
Unprovoked it is not.
Unprovoked? You say? Let’s review the definition of “unprovoked” by the West MSM :
US/NATO provoked Russia in 2014 with Maidan coup. Then provoked Russia with Ukrainian CIA bases, NATO weapons/training, and short- and mid-range missiles. After December, 2021 Russian ultimatums, which were ignored and rejected, Russia conducted war in Ukraine to get rid of Ukrainian AZOV pests from Russian speaking Ukrainian lands. That was when the West MSM started to claim “Unprovoked Russian Invasion”. The Ukraine War has been provoked by the west for 10 years.
Big crazy R is flooding the comments with non stop insults . Every day I will importune this site to quit all comments. The nonsense devalues journalism making it worthless. If it takes money, I have savings
Well done