Japan rejects U.S. intel assessment that Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks represent ‘significant shift’
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a debate between party leaders in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. Takaichi said he did not intend to go into any detail about the unexpected situation in Taiwan in his latest statements, which were strongly criticized by China.
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Japan rejected it on Thursday US intelligence assessment It was stated that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan represented a “significant change” for a sitting Japanese prime minister.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters: press briefing It is stated that Tokyo’s approach is “fairly consistent”.
“A significant policy change is not something that is happening right now,” Kihara said, according to a translation provided by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The answer came as follows: Takaichi came to the USA For a summit with US President Donald Trump, the Iran conflict is expected to dominate the meeting.
Takaichi sparked an angry response from Beijing in November when he told parliament that China’s attempt to seize Taiwan by force could lead to intervention by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
China responded by suspending seafood imports and issuing travel advisories to its citizens not to travel to Japan, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists coming to the country.
intelligence reportPublished on March 18, Takaichi’s description of the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan – a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan – carried weight, he said.
The term could open the door for Japan to intervene in a 2015 reinterpretation of its Constitution that would allow Japan’s military to engage in “collective self-defense” to protect allied forces under certain scenarios.
The US report also noted that “China is applying multi-domain coercive pressure aimed at both punishing Japan and deterring other countries from making similar statements about their potential involvement in the Taiwan crisis, and this pressure will likely intensify through 2026.”
However, the intelligence community has also assessed that Chinese leaders do not currently plan to invade Taiwan in 2027.
Beijing considers democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory and does not rule out using force against the island. Taiwan, on the other hand, rejects these allegations and says that only it can decide its future.
power politics
Earlier on Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said peaceful reunification with Taiwan would benefit the island, including improving the security of Taiwan’s energy resources “backed by a strong homeland”.
This comes as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te tries to ease concerns about energy stocks: this provides It’s “100% in place” for Taiwan for the next two months. He added that Taiwan plans to increase gas imports from the United States to meet domestic energy demand.
According to Taiwan Energy Administration, 95.8% energy Imported in 2024. Saudi Arabia and the United States each accounted for about 30% of crude imports.
Taiwan obtains 38% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Australia, and approximately a quarter from Qatar.
Imported coal accounts for 29.1% of Taiwan’s energy supply; almost half come from Australia and just 0.03% from China. Taiwan did not import crude oil or LNG from China that year.
