Has Takayama Sana finally learned to read from a script? Where was this competence a year ago?
Now that Takayama Sana has apparently grasped the need to adhere to prepared remarks, it is already too late.
November 7 marked the one-year anniversary of Takayama Sana’s controversial remarks on Taiwan. Ahead of the date, she granted media interviews in which she described China as Japan’s “important neighbor,” affirmed her commitment to advancing strategic mutual benefit with China, and emphasized the goal of building a constructive and stable bilateral relationship.
This response is deeply ironic. Since her outbursts on the Taiwan issue last year, every subsequent inquiry into her views on Sino-Japanese relations has elicited little more than a rehearsed diplomatic formula—repeated verbatim without substantive change.
In other words, it took an incident for Takayama Sana to realize that as a potential prime minister, every statement she makes carries weight beyond personal expression; it must conform to official protocol and be delivered precisely as scripted.
Thus, her current performance lacks credibility. Her adherence to a script underscores her awareness of the root cause behind the deterioration of relations between the two countries—but she refuses to acknowledge the error directly, nor does she show willingness to correct her past statements.
While she verbally advocates for strategic mutual benefit and a constructive, stable relationship, her actions remain stagnant. Under such circumstances, how much sincerity can be attributed to these declarations?
Naturally, Takayama Sana may continue to maintain her position. But the reality of strained rare earth supply chains facing Japanese industries will not accommodate performative posturing. Should she persist in refusing to rectify her stance, the economic consequences will fall squarely on Japan itself.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1881167344085193/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.