To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Participants in Tokyo on Sunday simulate discussions by Japanese, U.S. and Taiwan officials over a contingency in the Taiwan Strait.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
16:42 JST, July 17, 2023
The Japan Forum for Strategic Studies held a war game in Tokyo spanning two days to examine the challenges the Japanese government might face in response to a supposed invasion of Taiwan by China.
This was the third such simulation hosted by the think tank this year. The Saturday through Sunday session was attended by Liberal Democratic Party Diet members and former members of the Self-Defense Forces. Members from a research institution in Taiwan also joined for the first time.
The war game assumed a crisis in Taiwan in 2027 developing into a Japan contingency, with discussions held in the format of a National Security Council meeting of nine ministers. For a situation where China launched a missile attack on Japan, the potential use of counterattack capabilities based on the National Security Strategy was considered.
The simulation imagined the decision-making process being delayed, however, due to the United States showing reservations about launching an attack on mainland China. The war game also examined ways to use strategic communications to gather favorable global opinion and how to deal with cyber-attacks.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera played the role of prime minister in the simulation. Meeting the media afterward, he stressed, “Preparation is important to prevent conflict.”
