Tokyo spells out position on Taiwan, in part, in bid to ease tension with Beijing

The Japanese government has spelled out its position on Taiwan – although only in part – based on the 1972 document that normalised diplomatic ties to ease tensions, but insists the Taiwan issue should be resolved “peacefully through dialogue”.

In a parliamentary session, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi repeated Tokyo’s position on Taiwan stated in the document that established and normalised diplomatic ties with Beijing and severed ties with Taipei – language Beijing has repeatedly urged Japan to restate in recent weeks.

However, he did not read out a portion of the relevant clause reflecting China’s position, even as Beijing has repeatedly urged Tokyo in recent weeks to restate the wording in full.

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Motegi made the remarks during a question session at the Japanese House of Councillors’ budget committee on Monday afternoon, when Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Taku Yamazoe asked Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to elaborate on Tokyo’s position on Taiwan as set out in the document.

“Regarding Taiwan, Japan’s fundamental policy is, as the prime minister has clearly stated, in line with the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique,” Motegi said.

“The document states that the Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation.”

He did not read out the first half of the cited clause, which states “the Government of the People’s Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China”.

But after further grilling by Yamazoe, Motegi went on to outline the substance of Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration signed in 1945 – a step Beijing has also repeatedly urged Tokyo to take during the latest diplomatic row – although he again omitted some of the details.

“Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration incorporates the provisions of the Cairo Declaration. Japan was not a party to the Cairo Declaration itself, but the Potsdam Declaration stipulates that its provisions must be carried out,” Motegi said.

“The Cairo Declaration set out the policy objectives of the Allied Powers at the time, including the return of Manchuria, Taiwan and other territories from Japan to what was then the Republic of China. [The Potsdam Declaration] states that the terms shall be carried out,” he added, noting that “Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration”.

Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration issued by the United States, Britain and China, stipulates that “Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine”.

The Cairo Declaration of November 1943 says “it is their [China, Britain and the US’] purpose that Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the First World War in 1914”.

The two documents are often cited by Beijing as legal treaties supporting Taiwan as a part of China.

When pressed by Yamazoe on whether a potential military involvement by Japan would run counter to the long-standing consensus between Beijing and Tokyo on Taiwan, Takaichi said, “Japan’s consistent position is that issues surrounding Taiwan should be resolved peacefully through dialogue”.

She was repeating the remarks made minutes earlier by Motegi in which he cited the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, formally known as the Treaty of Peace with Japan.

Beijing was not invited to sign the treaty and has rejected it as illegal and invalid, arguing that it failed to specify to whom Taiwan’s sovereignty was to be transferred.

More to follow …

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.