People protest outside the official residence of the Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo, Japan on November 21, 2025, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous statements on Taiwan, provide an explanation and apologize. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)
Hundreds of Japanese protested Friday evening outside the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous statements on Taiwan and provide an explanation and apology.
Protesters began arriving around 7 p.m. local time, holding signs reading slogans such as “Remove the remarks, oppose the war”, “This is all Takaichi’s fault” and “Takaichi, resign”, and chanting slogans such as “Prevent the resurgence of militarism”.
Before the Diet on November 7, Takaichi said the Chinese mainland’s “use of force against Taiwan” could pose a “threat to the survival” of Japan and hinted at the possibility of armed intervention across the Taiwan Strait. She then insisted her remarks were consistent with the government’s long-standing position and refused to retract them.
Several demonstrators at the scene demanded that Ms. Takaichi take responsibility for her comments regarding Taiwan and resign.
One protester, Haruko Oki, told Xinhua that she was “very shocked” by the statement, calling it “extremely inappropriate” and “infused with dangerous political bias.”
“We don’t want a person like her as prime minister,” Oki said, adding that the prime minister’s inappropriate comments on such a sensitive issue were causing concern among ordinary citizens about her political leanings.
Another protester, Okahara told Xinhua that recently, the number of Chinese visitors to many tourist spots in Japan has declined significantly, which is beginning to affect the tourism industry.
“What exactly is Takaichi trying to achieve? Why did she make comments that could provoke a neighboring country? It’s really incomprehensible,” she said.
She said Ms Takaichi should be held responsible for the diplomatic and economic consequences caused by her comments. “She must sincerely apologize, retract her comments and resign as prime minister. Such a person is not fit to participate in politics.”
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, also participated in the rally. In an interview with Xinhua, she stressed that Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan were pushing Japan towards war and that such a political stance was “absolutely unacceptable!”
Fukushima stressed that such statements would only aggravate the situation and heighten tensions, insisting that Japan should stick to peaceful diplomacy and resolve regional tensions through dialogue and diplomatic means, rather than preparing for war or pushing for an escalation of regional tensions.
Ms. Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan drew sharp criticism from lawyers, anti-war groups and opposition parties in Japan. Public opinion pointed out that this statement violated the commitment made by the Japanese government in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communiqué and clearly contradicted Japan’s long-standing foreign policy towards China, which would likely cause unnecessary tension in the region.
