On October 21st, in the Prime Ministerial nomination election in the Japanese parliament, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takashi, was elected, making her the first female Prime Minister in Japan’s constitutional history. Japanese media reported that Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping did not send congratulations to Takashi, while Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sent his congratulations. However, the official Chinese announcement did not disclose the content of Li Keqiang’s message.
Japanese news agency Kyodo News on Friday (24th) quoted Japanese and Chinese diplomatic sources revealing this information.
Xi Jinping, who has been the President of the country since 2013, sent congratulations on the same day when Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida, and Shigeru Ishiba were elected as Prime Ministers from 2020 to 2024.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kiwara on the 24th responded to the question of whether it was Chinese Premier Li Keqiang rather than President Xi Jinping who congratulated Takashi, saying, “Regarding the issue of whether or not there were congratulatory messages from Chinese officials, it is not appropriate to answer each individual question.”
Takashi is seen as a hardliner towards China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on the 23rd did not give a direct response when asked whether Xi Jinping congratulated Takashi, only saying, “China has made appropriate arrangements based on diplomatic practice.”
The Nikkei reported that in China, congratulations are usually sent by the President to newly appointed foreign heads of state, so it is rare for the Premier to do so.
Earlier, after Sanae Takashi was elected as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, the ruling coalition in Japan announced its dissolution on October 10th, with the Komeito party ending its 26-year partnership with the LDP, posing a major political challenge for Takashi to become Prime Minister.
Japanese media and the executive director of a think tank on Indo-Pacific strategy, Akio Yaita, revealed that after Sanae Takashi was elected as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, visited Komeito representative Tetsuo Saito. After the meeting, Komeito suddenly took a hardline stance against the LDP.
Subsequently, the LDP chose to sign a coalition agreement with the Japan Innovation Party in exchange for support. On October 21st, Sanae Takashi was elected with a majority of votes in the House of Representatives, becoming the 104th Prime Minister of Japan.
In terms of economic and diplomatic matters, Sanae Takashi is strengthening the US-Japan alliance and views Taiwan as an important security partner for Japan.
Taiwanese political and economic scholar Jialong Wu previously told NTD that in terms of security, including Japan’s southwestern islands and surrounding waters of Taiwan, which are vital for Japan’s maritime and air transportation, Japan will not tolerate any instability in the Taiwan Strait area. Japan is now expected to increase defense budget, strengthen the defense industry, and prepare for possible military conflicts, leading to tensions in security policies between Japan and China.
Sanae Takashi has been a target of criticism by the Chinese Communist Party due to her previous criticism of Beijing and her friendly stance towards Taiwan.
Associate Professor Shimin Chen of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University told NTD that if the Chinese Communist Party insists on forcefully changing the status quo in Taiwan, Takashi will strongly resist and even cooperate with other countries in East Asia to prevent the CCP.
On October 24th, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sanae Takashi’s inaugural policy speech, emphasizing “Worrisome ‘hawkish’ policies.”