Taiwan/Flag of the Republic of China. On January 11, 2023, at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's armed forces conducted a two-day routine exercise. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)
[People News] On the geopolitical chessboard of East Asia, every movement of a piece can trigger a chain reaction. Late at night on November 13, 2025, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly released a message: Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, “acting on instructions,” summoned Japan’s ambassador to China, Kenji Kanasugi, to lodge a stern protest over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “erroneous remarks concerning China.”
Pay attention to the phrase “acting on instructions.” It is not a simple diplomatic formality but directly points to the highest-level directive from Beijing—the escalation of Xi Jinping’s humiliation-turned-anger. This is not an ordinary protest but another round of naked threats against Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The release time of 2:56 a.m. seemed to remind Tokyo: Beijing’s patience has run out, and any challenge to its “core interests” will bring thunderous retaliation. At a deeper level, behind this escalating pressure may lie a precursor to the CCP’s armed invasion of Taiwan—Beijing is using pressure on Japan to test the international bottom line and pave the way for adventurism in the Taiwan Strait.
Looking back at the background, on November 7, during a parliamentary Q&A, Sanae Takaichi issued a shocking cry: “If Taiwan is in trouble, Japan is in trouble. Japan has reached a moment of existential crisis.” This was not empty rhetoric but a deep insight into Japan’s national security. As a representative of the conservative faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, Takaichi faced the turbulent Taiwan Strait head-on from the moment she took office. She sees Taiwan as Japan’s “lifeline” and emphasized that if the mainland uses force against Taiwan, it would trigger Japan’s “existential crisis situation,” thereby activating collective self-defense rights. This statement stems from Japan’s geopolitical reality: if chaos erupts in the Taiwan Strait, Japan’s energy routes, semiconductor supply chain, and even the security of Okinawa would instantly collapse.
Specifically, the impact of a Taiwan contingency on Japan is multi-dimensional, and the numbers are startling. First, in economic and trade terms, the Taiwan Strait is the artery of Japan’s global supply chain: in 2022, 32% of Japan’s imports and 25% of its exports—worth nearly $444 billion—had to pass through this strait. Once blocked or disrupted, Japan’s economy would face catastrophic interruption; global trade losses could exceed $2 trillion, with Japan absorbing a huge share. Second, energy security would become precarious: over 95% of Japan’s crude oil imports rely on Middle Eastern routes that must transit the Taiwan Strait. Any disruption would cause fuel shortages, push oil prices to soar, and trigger industrial shutdowns. Third, the semiconductor industry would suffer a crushing blow: Taiwan dominates 92% of advanced global chip production, and Japan’s automotive, electronics, and AI industries rely heavily on this supply chain, covering more than 60% of global semiconductor imports.
A supply-chain breakdown could cause Japan’s GDP to lose trillions of yen in the short term. More deeply, the military security threat looms: in a conflict, Okinawa bases would be directly affected, and 42.1% of Japanese people already see a Taiwan contingency as an “existential crisis.” These numbers are not abstract—they are the iron-clad evidence behind Takaichi’s cry: a Taiwan crisis is a disaster for Japan. More importantly, Beijing’s step-by-step pressure aims to suppress this sense of alertness and remove external resistance to a Taiwan conflict—undeniably the prelude to an armed invasion.
As early as after Takaichi spoke out, Xue Jian, China’s Consul General in Osaka, openly threatened on the X platform: “For that filthy head that dares to stick out, it must be chopped off without hesitation.” This was not a slip of the tongue by a diplomat but the extreme embodiment of wolf-warrior diplomacy. Xue Jian’s “decapitation” remark directly targeted Sanae Takaichi personally. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately protested, calling it “extremely inappropriate,” and even called for listing him as a persona non grata and expelling him. This was no longer a war of words but naked violent intimidation, exposing Beijing’s zero tolerance for dissent—in the shadow of an armed invasion of Taiwan, such threats aim to sow fear and undermine a potential Japan–Taiwan alignment.
Even more shocking was the Foreign Ministry’s barrage of attacks. Spokesperson Lin Jian first opened fire during the regular press conference on November 10, condemning Takaichi’s remarks as “interfering in China’s internal affairs” and warning of “extremely serious consequences.” On November 13, Lin Jian escalated again, saying Takaichi had “openly made explicit provocative remarks regarding Taiwan, hinting at military involvement in the Taiwan Strait,” and urged Japan to “immediately retract the egregious statements.” These are not isolated comments but systematic pressure: from Xue Jian’s personal threats to Lin Jian’s official condemnations, and then to the People’s Daily editorial, “Absolutely Do Not Tolerate Sanae Takaichi’s Line-Crossing Provocations on the Taiwan Issue,” each layer piled upon the next, aiming to corner Takaichi. Sun Weidong’s late-night summons was the peak of these “instructions”—Xi Jinping personally ordered it, intending to crush any illusions Tokyo might still hold with an iron diplomatic fist. This series of moves is no coincidence—it is Beijing’s signal of “clearing the field” for military action in the Taiwan Strait: first coercing Japan, then intimidating the U.S. and Europe, creating a window for a “fait accompli.”
Under such high pressure, voices in Japan are divided: on one side is the argument echoing through politics and media that “the weak should not defy the strong; small nations must be controlled by big powers”; on the other, Takaichi’s cry awakened a public courage to resist bullying. After all, when Beijing uses “core interests” as a pretext to commit naked hegemonic deeds, who can remain indifferent to the undercurrents of the Taiwan Strait? Takaichi’s voice is a head-on blow to this “logic of the strong,” while Xi Jinping’s pressure reveals his impatience for ambitions in the Taiwan Strait.
Xi Jinping’s diplomatic policy is: to align with dictatorial and evil regimes, to oppose democratic and civilized countries, and to use the slogan of a “community with a shared future for mankind” to advance his global expansionist ambitions.
The CCP’s aggressive attitude toward Japan may very well be a precursor to its armed invasion of Taiwan: Beijing seeks to isolate Taiwan by pressuring Japan, but instead has accelerated the cohesion of regional alliances. Xi Jinping’s escalation of “humiliation-turned-anger” may ignite the powder keg of East Asia, turning the Taiwan Strait crisis into the grave of the CCP. For the light of human righteousness never belongs to dictators who wield the sickle and hammer.
(Source: Author’s X account)
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