Singer-songwriter Matsuyama Chiharu (69) appeared on NACK5’s “Matsuyama Chiharu ON THE RADIO” (Sunday 9:00 pm) broadcast on the 23rd, and referred to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about the Taiwan emergency. Matsuyama Chiharu thinks that the legendary singer is “really very good at singing. It is the relationship between Prime Minister Takaichi and China, isn’t it? I think there are many people who are feeling more severely now that the end of the year has come. I think there are many people who are feeling more severely now that we are coming to the end of the year,” he began, “In the case of Hokkaido, we export a lot of processed marine products to China. He continued, “You are talking about the Taiwan contingency. China, like Mr. Xi Jinping, started from the idea that “Taiwan is our country. However, even from a global perspective, there are few countries that recognize Taiwan as a Taiwanese nation. Taiwan is in a very delicate position.” “Prime Minister Koichi said that if China eventually tries to unify Taiwan by force, he would think about it. He said something that a prime minister would not normally say in the Diet. China said that this was interference in its internal affairs. It was like, “We are not in a position to be told what to do or not to do by Japan. Then there was a lot of harassment,” he continued. He added, “To be honest, I think there were plenty of times when Mr. Takaichi could have withdrawn. That was in response to a question from Mr. Okada of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. If I want to withdraw, I will withdraw. It’s okay to think otherwise. It’s okay to think, “We will do it,” but to say it out loud is a bit of a difficult problem. Of course, there are those in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who think so, but there are also those who think, “No, not at all. Matsuyama added, “So there is a possibility that Taiwan will go to China before the talks are over. It is possible that Taiwan will go to China in the course of discussions, not by force but by discussion. I don’t think that China will always use force to annex Taiwan, but that’s not all. I think there is a possibility that Japan and neighboring countries could be included in the discussion. Also, I am not sure how much the U.S. will support what Japan has said,” he added. I hope that Japan will make it clear to the rest of the world that war should be stopped and that war should not be fought. At the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives on August 7, Mr. Takaichi stated that the Taiwan contingency “could definitely become an existential crisis situation,” and the Chinese government reacted furiously. The Chinese government responded angrily, calling for voluntary restraint on travel to Japan and careful consideration of studying abroad in Japan. Furthermore, the Chinese government announced that it would effectively suspend imports of Japanese marine products. This is also widely viewed as a countermeasure against the Japanese side. The Chinese side is demanding a retraction of the statement, but Mr. Takaichi says that the government’s position is consistent and that he will not revise or retract his statement.
