Japan's Komeito Secretary-General Minoru Nishida recently held a representative question at the Senate plenary meeting on Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's policy policy speech. He publicly claimed that Japan had recognized the return of Taiwan to China in accordance with the 1972 "Japan-China Joint Declaration" and asked the government whether it opposed Taiwan's independence. These remarks immediately caused an uproar in Japan's political arena and social media. Conservatives and many cross-party congressmen criticized this move as "representing the Chinese Communist Party and cleverly fabricating history."
According to "Election.com", Nishida pointed out during the inquiry on the 9th that Japan had recognized the government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate government of China in item 2 of the 1972 "Japan-China Joint Statement"; item 3 stated its position of adhering to item 8 of the "Potsdam Declaration". According to Nishida, this means that the Japanese government recognizes the return of Taiwan to China and does not recognize "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan", which means it does not support Taiwan's independence. He said that this is the consistent position of successive Japanese governments.
Nishida further quoted the joint statement of the foreign ministers' meeting of the United States, Japan and South Korea on September 22, which stated that "any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo" appeared. He advocated that "any unilateral change of the status quo" certainly includes China's use of force against Taiwan, but it also includes "Taiwan independence." He asked the Gao City cabinet whether Taiwan independence would be regarded as a change of the status quo and would not be supported.
In this regard, Takaichi only reiterated Japan's consistent position that it "expects the Taiwan issue to be resolved peacefully through dialogue."
However, Nishida's statement that he equated the "Potsdam Declaration" with "recognizing the return of Taiwan to the People's Republic of China" quickly aroused public outrage. The well-known Japanese political commentator Takashi Kadota published a post on the social platform
Kadoda emphasized that Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China, and it is still the Republic of China today. The People's Republic of China has "never actually ruled Taiwan for a day" since its founding in 1949. "Even if you want to speak for China, please stop fabricating history!"
In another post, Kadoda warned that China's penetration into Japanese politics has become pervasive. Nishida's question conceals a clever historical distortion, questioning whether Japanese society can really tolerate such a political party that promotes Beijing's narrative.
In addition, many Japanese public opinion representatives have also spoken out. Japan's Conservative Senator Haruo Kitamura posted a message saying that he was extremely shocked and angry at Nishida's speech, saying "to what extent should I be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party?" and he was glad that the Komeito Party had withdrawn from the ruling coalition. Kobe City Councilor Hirohiro Uehata also criticized Nishida's words and deeds as "like the spokesperson of China, a cruel and unjust dictatorship."
