Kihara Refutes U.S. Report About Takaichi’s Taiwan Remarks, Says Japan’s Stance Remains Consistent

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:33 JST, March 20, 2026

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara refuted the analysis of a U.S. government report that assessed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Diet remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency as marking a “significant shift.” At a press conference on Thursday, he said “The comment [in the report] is not accurate.”

In November 2025, Takaichi remarked in the Diet that a Taiwan contingency could be recognized as a “survival-threatening situation” that allows Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. “Her comments represent a significant shift for a sitting Japanese prime minister,” said the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Kihara said, “The government’s position, in which it makes judgments by synthesizing all information for specific circumstances, has remained consistent.”