TOKYO, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — Kazuteru Saionji, visiting professor of Higashi Nippon International University in Japan, described Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s inaccurate remarks on Taiwan as “extremely dangerous” and echoing militaristic rhetoric, warning Japan in opposition to the hazard of repeating the errors of historical past.
Takaichi mentioned on Nov. 7 throughout a Diet listening to that the Chinese mainland’s “use of force on Taiwan” may represent a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and implied the potential for armed intervention within the Taiwan Strait.
“First and foremost, it must be clear that the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair that no other country is allowed to interfere,” Saionji identified.
He mentioned the concept the so-called Taiwan contingency would threaten “Japan’s survival” is logically untenable, including the unfounded declare that “Japan will intervene militarily in the event of a crisis” is extraordinarily provocative.
“In fact, Takaichi’s statement itself is what is crucial to the survival of Japan, and her remarks are extremely dangerous,” Saionji mentioned.
Noting that Taiwan and historical past are two essential questions of precept in Japan-China relations, Saionji mentioned if the Japanese authorities and the principle leaders of the ruling social gathering fail to undertake an accurate perspective on these issues, the bilateral relationship will probably be considerably broken.
“Not understanding history is a very terrifying thing, because it means being unable to draw lessons from history. Whether one has understood history and faced it squarely is related to many things, and the Taiwan question is one of them,” Saionji emphasised.
In the historical past of Japanese militarism, the so-called “survival-threatening situation” has been repeatedly used as an excuse to launch aggressive wars, together with intentionally initiating the September 18 Incident beneath the pretext of “exercising the right of self-defense” which provoked its conflict of aggression in opposition to China, bringing immense struggling and catastrophe to the folks of Asia, together with China, and to the world.
“Takaichi’s remarks sounded familiar,” mentioned Saionji, including that Japanese militarism’s invasion of northeast China and the institution of the puppet “Manchukuo” regime introduced profound struggling to each the Chinese and Japanese folks. “Does Takaichi intend to repeat the same mistakes?”
Saionji believes that Takaichi’s remarks will harm peace in Asia and international stability.
“What is particularly noteworthy is that Japan has not fully reflected on and faced up to its history of aggression. If Japan significantly boosts its military buildup and openly declares its intention to go to war on other countries’ territories, it will once again awaken the ‘nightmare of Japanese militarism’ in many countries, especially those in Asia, triggering concerns and vigilance among these countries,” the scholar mentioned.
Saionji emphasised that if Japan doesn’t deeply mirror on its historical past, it would inevitably head down a path of no return.
“Today’s China is no longer the China of the past, and today’s Asia is also very different from what it was before,” he famous.