As the Fujian aircraft carrier is delivered, Takahashi Hayato boasts: Japan will go to war for "Taiwan's affairs"

China's navy has added another major asset. The news that the Fujian aircraft carrier officially joined the fleet just landed, and it has already stirred up the East Asian military chessboard even more. On November 5th, this 80,000-ton electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier completed the flag-raising ceremony in Sanya Port, Hainan, with the hull number 18, marking the People's Navy entering the era of three aircraft carriers. From the Liaoning aircraft carrier's ski-jump takeoff, to the Shandong aircraft carrier's conventional power and conventional catapult, and then to the Fujian aircraft carrier's fully self-designed electromagnetic catapult, this step-by-step progress has been steady and solid. The electromagnetic catapult technology doubles the efficiency of aircraft takeoffs, allowing the J-15 and future J-35 to take off and land more smoothly, directly extending the operational range of the aircraft carrier group into the depths of the Western Pacific. The navy revealed that over 60% of the crew on the Fujian aircraft carrier have experience serving on the Shandong aircraft carrier. This inheritance model has significantly shortened the cycle from the new ship joining the fleet to forming combat capability. Simply put, this is not only a hardware upgrade but also a real transformation of the navy from coastal defense to oceanic escort, clearly playing a significant role in maintaining stability around the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

At this critical moment, Japan suddenly had Takahashi Hayato's harsh words. On November 7th, during a meeting of the Japanese House of Representatives Budget Committee, Takahashi Hayato, as the newly appointed prime minister, bluntly linked "Taiwan's affairs" to Japan's survival crisis. She said that if there was a situation involving the use of force in the Taiwan Strait, such as warships blockading the sea area and firing at external forces, this could fall under the category of a "survival crisis" in Japan's Security Law, in which case the Self-Defense Forces would have to exercise collective self-defense rights, including using force when necessary. These words essentially opened the door for Japan to intervene in the Taiwan Strait conflict, much more direct than her predecessor Abe Shinzo's vague statement of "Taiwan's affairs are Japan's affairs." Abe had only made a verbal statement, while this time Takahashi Hayato directly involved the Self-Defense Forces, lowering the threshold to "depending on the situation," leaving some room for flexibility, but essentially testing the red line.

Takahashi Hayato is a typical right-wing veteran of the Liberal Democratic Party. Born in Nara Prefecture in 1961, her parents were both civil servants, and she led a relatively conventional life. She studied law at Kobe University and later went to the Matsushita Political Economy Institute for further studies, where political stars are cultivated. In 1987, she worked as a researcher in the U.S. Congress, mingling with Democratic Party members and learning some Washington operation tactics. After returning home, she first worked as a TV anchor. In 1993, at the age of 33, she entered politics and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives, starting from the second district of Nara. Early on, she ran independently, joined Ozawa Ichirō's Liberal Party in 1994, and then moved to the Liberal Democratic Party in 1996, where she remained rooted in the Abe faction. Her political label is deeply conservative, supporting constitutional amendment, elevating the Self-Defense Forces to a national army, and often visiting the Yasukuni Shrine. As the Minister of Internal Affairs in 2014, she pushed for electoral district adjustments, causing chaos locally; as the Economic Security Minister in 2022, she led the revision of the security laws, emphasizing a tough stance towards China, Japan, and South Korea. On October 4, 2025, she ran for the LDP president for the third time and won 185 votes, defeating Koizumi Jun'ichirō and becoming the party leader. On October 21st, the Diet designated her, and she narrowly won the election, becoming the 104th Prime Minister of Japan and the first female Prime Minister in history. Although she is a woman, her style is as hard as iron. Her approval rating was as high as 64% when she took office, but this was mostly due to economic anxiety, and the public had become numb to scandals.

Her path to becoming Prime Minister started off unsmoothly. The LDP lost its majority seats, and the Komeito Party also left the alliance. On October 19th, she had to team up with the Japan Innovation Party, and the new agreement was signed with difficulty. In foreign affairs, she spoke with Trump in her first week as Prime Minister, emphasizing the upgrading of the Japan-US alliance, and later made statements, subtly pulling the US into the situation. However, these comments on Taiwan immediately shifted the blame to the progress of the Chinese navy. The Fujian aircraft carrier joining the fleet was a matter of China itself, but Japan used this opportunity to create a stir, and Asahi Shimbun openly stated that this was the first time the Prime Minister publicly acknowledged the possibility of the Self-Defense Forces intervening in the Taiwan Strait. The concept of collective self-defense originates from the 2015 security law, originally intended to support allies, but applying it to the Taiwan region carries risks that could ignite the entire East Asia. The Taiwan defense department is likely to work overtime assessing this move by Japan, which is too hasty, effectively telling the US that they can't monopolize the Asia-Pacific cake alone.

Takahashi Hayato has always viewed the Taiwan region as a buffer zone, fearing that if something happened, the US military bases in Okinawa would become targets. In her remarks, she specifically mentioned "warships blockading and attacking external forces," which is essentially alluding to if the US-Japan alliance intervenes, the Self-Defense Forces would have to follow. But this statement has caused considerable domestic backlash. The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Hashimoto Yoshimasa, criticized her for being reckless, and moderate members of the party privately muttered that this would drag Japan into a quagmire. The Komeito Party still had lingering issues, and it jumped out again, listing three grievances: political funding black holes, her anti-immigration rhetoric, and this diplomatic hardline. Street protests also arose, with anti-war groups holding banners, and right-wingers gathering to cheer, deepening the cracks in Japanese society. Internationally, the U.S. State Department responded quietly, saying it welcomed allies to share responsibility, but did not explicitly support it; the Chinese Foreign Ministry has not yet officially named her, but Chinese media has already criticized her as "stepping on the accelerator," reminding her not to repeat the fate of Abe being assassinated.

Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1848323221165132/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.