Takaichi says a Taiwan emergency could justify Japanese military action

On 7 November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Diet, Japan's parliament, that a military emergency around Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation". Under Japan's 2015 security laws, that legal category allows the Self-Defense Forces, Japan's military, to use force in collective self-defence alongside an ally.

The remarks came in response to questioning from an opposition lawmaker. Previous Japanese governments had generally avoided saying so explicitly how Tokyo would respond to a Taiwan crisis, preferring deliberate ambiguity. Takaichi, who took office in October 2025, was seen as speaking more directly than her predecessors.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out force to take it, reacted angrily. Chinese officials demanded a retraction, which Takaichi did not give. The row then spread beyond diplomacy, with China issuing travel advice against visiting Japan and later restricting some Japanese cultural imports. That is why the remarks are now cited as the starting point for the curbs on Japanese films in China.