Former Osaka Governor, Osaka Mayor, and lawyer Toru Hashimoto (56) appeared on Kantele’s 5-hour special program “Kantele Festival! Dotto Connect”. He talked about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “Taiwan emergency” comment. Hashimoto Toru’s X post under fire… While Japan-China relations continue to deteriorate due to Takaichi’s comments, Hashimoto’s opinions on X have also received a huge response. Citing reports of a visit to China by the director of the Foreign Ministry’s bureau, he said, “In the end, it is the current power relationship between Japan and China that Japan will come to China to explain. It is irresponsible Diet members, commentators, academics, and others who can speak with bluster and bravado, ignoring such substance. Until you have power, don’t make noises,” he posted. Hashimoto commented on the situation, “Everyone is critical of me, and I guess they don’t agree with me at all. I’m happy,” he commented to himself. Taizo Sugimura commented, “You have the same mentality as Mr. Takubo (former mayor of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture). I’m learning a lot from you. Hashimoto reiterated, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it was already decided that the director would visit, but if the situation is like this after he made that comment, he shouldn’t have gone. If Mr. Takaichi had really set this up based on a national strategy, the bureau chief would never have gone, and Japan would have played one card after another. There is no need to escalate the situation, but Japan doesn’t have any cards. I don’t think Mr. Takaichi is the one who initiated it. I think Mr. Takaichi is managing his administration very well in terms of budgeting, but this is what I was concerned about. There are some big supporters of Mr. Takaichi who say, “Don’t let China tell you what to do, go harder. I wonder if those people were distracted by what he said…. When asked by MC Ryoji Ishii, “Isn’t it a bad idea to say, ‘I’m going to withdraw this tentative proposal,'” Hashimoto replied, “I don’t think the Takaichi administration will be able to hold on to it. In Japan, if you say something tough to the outside world, you will be applauded, and if you just say that you should refrain from doing so while you don’t have power, like I do, 9.74 million people will react furiously all at once. If you see that situation, I don’t think Mr. Takaichi would ever be able to say that he would withdraw,” he said, referring to his own post that went down in flames.
