Hundreds call for Japan’s Sanae Takaichi to step down

Hundreds of Japanese citizens protested outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on November 15, demanding Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract and apologize for her recent remarks about China’s Taiwan region. Demonstrators called for her resignation after she suggested in a Diet hearing that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces could exercise collective self-defense if the Chinese mainland used force against Taiwan.

Despite strong protests from China, Takaichi refused to withdraw her comments, which have since drawn criticism from lawmakers, senior political figures, and the Japanese media. Former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said her remarks came close to declaring that a Taiwan conflict would automatically involve Japan — a position previous governments had deliberately avoided stating.

Credit : CGTN