Takaichi said in the Japanese parliament on 7 November: “If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation.”
A “survival-threatening situation” is a legal term under Japan’s 2015 security law, referring to when an armed attack on its allies presents an existential threat to Tokyo.
In such a situation, Japan’s self-defence forces can be called upon to respond to the threat.
Taiwan lies around 100km (60 miles) south of the closest Japanese island.
Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will, eventually, be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.
But many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation – although most are in favour of maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.
AloJapan.com