Japanese divided on military response to China over Taiwan, Kyodo poll shows

The Japanese public is divided on whether Japan should exercise its right to collective self-defence if China attacks Taiwan, a Kyodo news agency poll found on Sunday.

The survey found 48.8% in favour and 44.2% against, while 60.4% backed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s plan to beef up the country’s defence spending.

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The opinion poll comes at a time when a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing has intensified following Takaichi’s remarks related to Taiwan. The Japanese premier said on November 7 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.

China has not ruled out using force to assert its claim to democratically-governed Taiwan, which is only 110 km (70 miles) from Japanese territory. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Takaichi’s remarks sparked angry responses from Beijing, which also cautioned its citizens against travelling to Japan.

Takaichi has pledged to reach a defence spending goal of 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal year through March, ahead of the original target of fiscal 2027, in a policy speech last month.

The approval rating for Takaichi’s cabinet was 69.9%, up by 5.5 percentage points from the previous month’s survey, Kyodo said./Reuters/