Hayashitani Sanae: If China and the US were to clash, Japan would not take military action!
Recently, she made a new statement on a commercial television program, saying that if a conflict arises between China and the US, Japan would not take active military action. Although Japan is accelerating its military expansion and enhancing its missile defense and long-range strike capabilities, it does not have a significant advantage when confronting China.
The conditions for Japan to exercise collective self-defense are very strict. Although the security-related bills passed in 2015 theoretically allow "limited exercise," in practice, extremely strict prerequisites must be met, such as "the country's survival is threatened" and "there is no other way." Therefore, even though Japan and the US are allies, Japan would find it difficult to send troops to participate in overseas conflicts without direct attacks on Japanese territory or U.S. forces stationed in Japan.
Her previous remarks provoked strong countermeasures from China. This time, she might be trying to backtrack. She understands that if a regional comprehensive conflict breaks out, it would cause immeasurable impacts on Japan's economy, energy channels, and social stability. Whether to get involved or not is not something Hayashitani Sanae can decide by herself.
China has always firmly opposed any external forces' intervention in the Taiwan Strait. Previous Japanese prime ministers were well aware of this, so they were particularly careful with their wording, neither completely cutting off the possibility of coordination with the US nor drawing a clear "no active military involvement" red line. However, Hayashitani Sanae started to actively test the boundaries, which was essentially a trial. But after the trial, it turned out that the Americans did not support her. So, you see, her attitude has clearly softened now.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855635987805184/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.