Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds a press conference after a cabinet reshuffle at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Japan, September 17, 2026. RIE KIKUCHI/Pool via REUTERS | 2026-09-17T114821Z_995642754_RC2ZKNAAK914_RTRMADP_3_JAPAN-POLITICS

Beijing – Japan and China have moved toward selective economic dependence since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks on a possible Taiwan crisis infuriated Beijing a year ago.

On Nov. 7, 2025, Takaichi said at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting that the Self-Defense Forces could be deployed under the right to collective self-defense in “worst-case” scenarios, such as a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan, which the prime minister said could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan.

Her remarks triggered anger in China, which in response imposed export restrictions and other measures against Japan.

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