Tokyo Report | Diplomacy | East Asia

A Message to China from Japan’s Takaichi Administration

Can Japan ‘normalize’ relations?

The Taiwan Strait came up as an example during a debate on the legal applications of Japan’s right of collective self-defense at the Budget Committee of the Lower House on November 7, 2025, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave her response when asked under what circumstances a “survival-threatening situation” would be legally applicable. China reacted sharply, to say the least: verbally accusing Japan of “neo-militarism” and then moving to normalize activities by the Chinese Navy — especially its aircraft carriers — in the waters between the First Island Chain and the Second Island Chain, while its coast guard began deploying east of Taiwan’s coast. On the economic front, security provisions were applied to Japanese companies, restrictions were imposed on rare earth exports, and measures were taken to curtail tourism and other exchanges with Japan, with economic, local-governmental, and academic ties all affected to a significant degree. China has demanded that Takaichi retract her November 7 statements, but she has refused.

An APEC summit is scheduled in China in November 2026, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Takaichi is expected to attend. Significant progress in Japan-China relations has been elusive, however. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made remarks in late June 2026 that appeared to give the green light for private exchanges between Japan and China, and a range of business associations and parliamentary groups are now scheduled to visit China this fall. Whether this supposed “green light” actually came from China’s leadership remains unclear.

So what message is the Takaichi administration sending to China?

First, on the Taiwan Strait. Three days after the original remarks, at a Budget Committee session on November 11, 2025, Takaichi said that “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for Japanese security but also for the stability of the international community as a whole. Japan has consistently held the expectation that issues surrounding Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue.” At a plenary session of the House of Representatives on December 3, she added: “Our government’s basic position regarding Taiwan hasn’t changed and is as stated in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communiqué.” In short, she made clear that the November 7 statement did not represent a change in Japan’s Taiwan policy.

Then, on Japan-China relations broadly. At the Joint Meeting of the Committees of Both Houses on Fundamental National Policies on November 26, 2025, Takaichi said the two sides had “agreed to building constructive and stable Japan-China relations” and that “if there are concerns or challenges between us, they will be resolved through communication, communication between the leaders,” adding that “Japan is always constructive and open to dialogue........

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