Japanese media: if Taiwan is in an emergency, the Self Defense Force can take action

The Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reports that if Taiwan encounters an emergency, the Japanese government may deploy its self-defense forces to respond to the actual situation, but of course the purpose is still to defend Japan itself.

Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that in the event of an emergency (something) involving a clash of arms between Taiwan and China, Japan could invoke the relevant provisions of the “Japan Peace and Security Law” that came into effect in 2016 to take a variety of actions, including deploying its self-defense forces. Of course, the specific situation depends on the situation at the time. This shows that Japan intends to expand the reasons for the deployment of the SDF.

According to the report, Taiwan and Japan’s outlying islands in the southwest are quite close (the text includes Diaoyutai in the Ryukyu Islands), so if tensions arise in Taiwan, Japan may also be affected, so Japan must react.

In the event of an emergency, U.S. forces are expected to counterattack to defend Taiwan. The SDF’s first role at that time should be logistical support work, such as providing fuel for U.S. forces, which is the spirit of the provisions of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty’s Significant Influence State Act.

Of course, Japan cannot use its right of self-defense lightly, and must then conduct a specific analysis to prove that the emergency situation in Taiwan has a significant impact on Japan’s peace and security, and that if “it is allowed to develop, it may lead to a direct armed attack on Japan, and if the situation deteriorates, it may fall into an existential crisis”. In such a case, Japan would have a reason to use force to counterattack in the name of its right to self-defense.

In the more serious case of a direct armed attack on Japan, including a U.S. military base in Japan, or similar “imminent danger,” the Japanese government would consider it an “armed attack” and would authorize the SDF to use force in response.

In all three cases, parliamentary approval is required to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces.