Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to continue Japan's pro-Taiwan policy after his ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) won a comfortable majority in Sunday's general election, local scholars said Monday.
Kishida's LDP secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house, down from 276 previously, but still enough for an absolute majority that allows the LDP to control parliamentary committees, making it easier for the party to pass legislation.
Junior coalition partner Komeito will solidify that majority with another 32 seats.
Kuo Yu-jen (???), a professor with National Sun Yat-sen University's Institute of China and the Asia-Pacific, said the LDP win was a good sign for Taiwan because Kishida will likely maintain Japan's defense and foreign policy posture.
He has been particularly interested in furthering strengthen security ties with the United States and supporting Taiwan's international participation, Kuo said, and his economic security policy will also lead to closer supply chain cooperation between Taipei and Tokyo.
In a debate in September with other candidates competing to head the LDP, for example, Kishida welcomed Taiwan's application to join the Tokyo-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc.
Kishida's support does not guarantee Taiwan access to the trade bloc because membership requires a consensus among all CPTPP members, but least Japan could speed up its negotiations with Taiwan on a possible bilateral free trade agreement, Kuo suggested.
Kuo also predicted that Taiwan and Japan could sign a coast guard cooperation pact soon as Taiwan did with the U.S. given China's increasing threat in the overlapping waters with Japan in the East China Sea.
Li Ming-Juinn (???) of the Taiwan Society of Japan Studies agreed, even if Kishida has long been considered on the dovish side of the LDP on China relations and other issues.
More recently, Li said, Kishida has been at the forefront of a more hardline stance on security issues targeting China, reflecting the increasingly hawkish stance toward Beijing among Japanese as they realize Japan would be affected by a conflict across the Taiwan Strait, Li said.
That stance was only reinforced right before Japan's general election, when China and Russia held joint naval exercises in the Tsugaru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu and into the Pacific Ocean.
Their joint forces also passed through the Osumi Strait south of Kyushu before continuing into the East China Sea.
These exercises have been seen by Japan as a form of provocation and only reinforced Japan's negative impression of China, which is partly why the LDP's tougher stance toward Beijing helped it gain a general election victory that had not seemed inevitable in recent months.
Lu Hsin-chi (???), an assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of International Politics at National Chung Hsing University, also believed that the Kishida administration will continue to promote relations with Taiwan as it works with the U.S. on taking a tougher stance on China.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel