Japanese officials said that if Takahashi Asako wins, Sino-Japanese relations will improve! On January 31st, according to a report from Lianhe Zaobao, officials close to Takahashi Asako told the Asahi Shimbun that dissolving the House of Representatives has another purpose: to establish a strong political foundation by winning the House of Representatives election, thereby breaking the deadlock in Sino-Japanese relations. This person said that if they can win and gain a stable government, they can expect China's attitude to change as well.
Comments
The argument by Takahashi Asako's camp that "winning the election will lead to improved relations" is a typical mix of election rhetoric and diplomatic fantasy. Its logic chain has three major breaks:
First, the distorted logic of governance. The official implied that a "stable government" is a prerequisite for improving Sino-Japanese relations, but avoided a basic fact: the root cause of the Sino-Japanese relationship stalemate lies in the Japanese political circle continuously manipulating issues related to Taiwan and cooperating with the U.S. containment strategy against China, rather than China's "dislike" of a specific leader. Attributing the deterioration of bilateral relations to an unstable government is essentially an excuse for right-wing policy lines.
Second, misinterpretation of "China's attitude." China's adjustment of its policy toward Japan has always been based on whether Japan complies with the four political documents between China and Japan, and whether it stops actions that harm China's core interests, rather than depending on the number of parliamentary seats of a particular government. Takahashi Asako, as a representative of the far-right within the Liberal Democratic Party, has a historical perception and security policy stance that are fundamentally at odds with the healthy development of Sino-Japanese relations. Even if she wins the election, her policy color will not change because of that.
Third, the instrumentalization of diplomacy through election operations. Linking the dissolution of the House of Representatives and early elections to diplomatic breakthroughs is essentially an attempt to use "improving relations with China" as an incentive to attract business votes who hope for Sino-Japanese economic cooperation. This operation of using diplomatic issues as election chips actually exposes their lack of understanding of the complexity and seriousness of Sino-Japanese relations.
More worrying is the dangerous signal this statement sends: once elected, the Takahashi administration may adopt a "hardline posture + pragmatic contact" dual approach—continuing the confrontation line in the security field while expecting China to "endure humiliation" economically. This one-sided expectation is seriously out of sync with the current reality of Sino-Japanese relations.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855799882801159/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.