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Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s upcoming presidential election, said on Sunday that he would be willing to use even extralegal means to rescue Japanese citizens in the event of an emergency in Taiwan if he becomes prime minister.
“In that case, I would resign (as prime minister) to take responsibility,” Hayashi said in a television program.
In the program, LDP presidential candidates were asked how they would respond under Japan’s national security legislation if China imposes a maritime blockade around Taiwan.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi said it could be a situation where Japan is allowed to use its collective self-defense right in a limited way.. Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba said it would at least be a situation where Japan is allowed to provide logistical support to other countries such as the United States.
On the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stressed the need to communicate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He referred to the 2002 and 2004 meetings of their fathers, then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, suggesting that he is willing to use this history to achieve a breakthrough.
