Japan seeks US support amid escalating tensions with China

Japan has asked the United States to step up its backing for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following a sharp deterioration in Tokyo’s relations with Beijing, the Financial Times reports, citing informed sources.

According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, officials in Tokyo believe Washington has not provided “enough support” after “China lashed out at Takaichi for saying a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose an ‘existential threat’ that would justify Japan deploying its military”. Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Shigeo Yamada, has reportedly appealed to the Trump administration to increase its public support.

In mid-November, Takaichi said that China’s threat to Taiwan justified the deployment of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces. Beijing responded by warning its citizens against travelling to Japan, prompting Tokyo to send a special envoy to Beijing in an effort to defuse the diplomatic row. Chinese authorities have repeatedly urged Takaichi to revise her stance, but she has refused to retract her comments.

By Vugar Khalilov