CHINESE Ambassador Fu Cong condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan as “extremely erroneous and dangerous” during a UN General Assembly debate Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, saying they violate the one-China principle and undermine Japan’s pledge to peaceful development.
Fu said Japan is “totally unqualified” to seek a permanent UN Security Council seat. Takaichi told lawmakers Nov. 7 that a Taiwan emergency could pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and justify collective self-defense.
Japanese scholars and media criticized the comments as interference in China’s internal affairs and a break from previous administrations. Noriyuki Kawamura of Nagoya University said the remarks trampled on the one-China principle, while an editorial in the newspaper Shakai Shimpo called Takaichi herself “a survival-threatening situation for Japan.”
Critics said Takaichi has pushed military expansion while lacking a stable majority in the Diet and has relied on right-wing positions to solidify her base. Atsushi Koketsu of Yamaguchi University said she is using the “China threat theory” for political gain and undermining Japan’s pacifist Constitution. Former Asahi Shimbun journalist Yoichi Jomaru called the remarks “extremely rash” and said they should be retracted.
Koketsu said Japan’s top priority should be building a mutually beneficial relationship with China and upholding the one-China principle agreed upon when the countries normalized ties. / XINHUA