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Preface

After claiming that "Taiwan's affairs are Japan's affairs," Takahashi Asako refused to apologize.

The Chinese delegation at the UN General Assembly confronted Japan with a one-to-seven stance, demanding the correct name for Okinawa.

Two former Japanese prime ministers jointly voiced their concerns, stating that Takahashi Asako is leading Japan down a dangerous path.

Takahashi Asako Refuses to Apologize

The storm started with a dangerously provocative statement by Takahashi Asako.

On November 7th, during a question-and-answer session in the Japanese House of Representatives, she openly claimed that if there were a military conflict across the Taiwan Strait, Japan would regard it as a "situation of national survival crisis" and activate collective self-defense rights.

This short sentence contains a lot of information and is extremely malicious.

The term "situation of national survival crisis" is a core clause in Japan's revised security law in 2015, which grants the Japanese Self-Defense Forces the legal basis to participate in combat when a country closely related to Japan suffers an armed attack.

Takahashi Asako

Previously, extreme Japanese politicians like Abe Shinzo also claimed that "Taiwan's affairs are Japan's affairs," but their statements were more like "hot air."

Only Takahashi Asako's remarks equate to unilaterally linking Japan's national security with China's internal affairs without any factual basis, opening a dangerous door for future military intervention in the Taiwan Strait.

Takahashi Asako's words were like a thunderclap, immediately triggering strong outrage from China.

The Foreign Ministry asked Takahashi Asako three questions: What message does her statement want to send to the 'Taiwan independence' forces? Is she trying to hinder China's unification cause? Where exactly does Japan want to lead Sino-Japanese relations?"

Chinese Consul General Xue Jian in Osaka even issued a warning on social media with the most direct and sharp language.

He said that for those who "recklessly stick out their dirty heads," the only choice is to "cut them off without hesitation."

This statement was extremely severe and resolute, which is rare in Sino-Japanese diplomatic history. It clearly conveyed a signal:

On the Taiwan issue, China has no room for compromise. Anyone who dares to play with fire will face the consequences.

However, facing China's strong warnings, Takahashi Asako did not show the slightest restraint, but instead chose to resist stubbornly.

On the evening of November 10th, during the budget committee meeting in the Japanese Diet, she responded again on this issue.

Takahashi Asako claimed, "I will not withdraw my previous comments, but in the future, I will avoid making similar statements when discussing such issues."

As for the reason why she will not retract her statement, Takahashi Asako stated that her statement "conforms to the government's long-standing views," so there is no need to retract it.

This statement is not only a blatant disregard of China's warning, but also a very cunning political blame-shifting.

She tried to present her personal extreme remarks as a "consensus" of the Japanese government, binding the entire Japan to her dangerous chariot.

Takahashi Asako's refusal to apologize has completely closed the door to resolving the issue through normal diplomatic channels.

If you don't take the wine, then you have to taste the penalty wine.

Japan may think that China has no way to deal with them.

But they didn't expect that China's counterattack had already been secretly arranged on another battlefield, and once launched, it directly hit Japan's most vulnerable "life vein."

China Demands the Correct Name for Okinawa

Two days after Takahashi Asako made her controversial remarks, on November 9th.

In the general debate session of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, Japan, along with G7 allies such as the UK and Canada, attempted to continue smearing China over issues such as Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet.

When the Japanese representative was proud of himself, thinking he had completed another "encirclement" against China, Ambassador Sun Lei, China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, exercised his right to respond, beginning a "textbook-level" rebuttal.

Facing the attack from seven countries, Ambassador Sun first firmly refuted the accusations, then shifted his focus to the most prominent Japanese representative.

He urged Japan to face up to its serious crimes against humanity committed during World War II, and then launched a statement that made the Japanese delegation pale instantly.

He demanded that Japan must "stop the prejudice and discrimination against the indigenous people of Okinawa."

Site of the Capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom

"Okinawa" and "indigenous people" — these two words are like precise surgical knives, instantly cutting open the historical wound that has never healed under Japan's shiny exterior.

Why? Because "Okinawa" has never belonged to Japan in history. It was once an independent Ryukyu Kingdom, which was a vassal state of the Ming and Qing dynasties of China for five hundred years, with its own unique language, culture, and traditions.

It wasn't until 1879, when the Meiji government forcibly annexed it through military means, renaming it "Okinawa Prefecture," known as the "Ryukyu Annexation."

This annexation was never recognized by the Qing Dynasty, the then suzerain state, nor was it confirmed by any international treaty, and its legitimacy has always been a subject of great historical controversy.

After World War II, according to international documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, Japan's sovereignty was strictly limited, and Okinawa was not included.

After the war, Okinawa was under U.S. administration until 1972, when the U.S. and Japan privately transferred the so-called "administrative authority" of Okinawa to Japan. This act completely ignored historical facts and international law, resembling a division of loot between two robbers.

This is where Japan is most vulnerable.

Therefore, when China, in the most formal and authoritative international setting, defined the "people of Okinawa" as "indigenous people" and pointed out that they are suffering from "prejudice and discrimination," it is not just a simple diplomatic verbal battle, but a most severe interrogation of the legitimacy of Japan's rule over Okinawa from the legal and moral foundations.

Reenactment of the King's Coronation Ceremony at Shuri Castle Park in Naha City, Okinawa

China's powerful strike caused an immediate earthquake within Japan.

The right-wing Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun angrily published an editorial, calling China's remarks "unacceptable" and threatening to make "the Chinese government withdraw its remarks." The Japanese government also urgently lodged a protest with China.

However, this outwardly fierce reaction actually exposed their extreme panic.

More interestingly, this incident also caused significant rifts within the Japanese political arena.

Former Prime Minister Hashimoto Yukio publicly expressed his shock at Takahashi Asako's remarks on Taiwan, believing that this put Japan in a "very dangerous situation."

Another former Prime Minister, Ozawa Ichirō, directly warned her: "Japan should not interfere in China's internal affairs!"

The Japanese political arena, which is usually factional, had two former prime ministers openly opposing the current prime minister, which itself indicates the severity of the issue.

They know better than anyone else that Takahashi Asako's recklessness gave China a very good opportunity to strike.

The Taiwan issue is China's core interest, while the Okinawa issue is Japan's "core pain point."

You dare to touch my core interest, I will dare to expose your core pain point.

Hashimoto Yukio

Takahashi Asako might have originally intended to use the Taiwan issue to gain political capital and offer a "pledge of loyalty" to the United States.

But the result was that she burned herself, bringing Okinawa back to the spotlight on the international stage, which was undoubtedly a case of kicking the bucket and hitting oneself.

This confrontation clearly tells the world that today's China is no longer the China that could only passively respond and be criticized.

We have cards in our hands, and we have the wisdom and determination to play them.

Any attempt to challenge China's bottom line will ultimately pay a price they cannot bear.

——THE END——

References: Observers News — China criticizes Japan's "prejudice and discrimination against the indigenous people of Okinawa", Japanese media is in a panic

Global Times — Takahashi Asako's reckless remarks on the Taiwan situation, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson asks Japan three questions about the fallacies of the Japanese Prime Minister's remarks on Taiwan

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571278258675679753/

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