Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions in the Lower House Budget Committee on Nov. 10. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stuck to her guns during Diet deliberations on Nov. 10, declining to withdraw a pledge to provide support to Taiwan if it came under attack and Japan felt threatened. 

In the Lower House Budget Committee, Hiroshi Ogushi of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan raised a comment made by Takaichi on Nov. 7 in which she said the use of military force on Taiwan by China would constitute a “survival-threatening situation.”

In this instance, Takaichi said that could lead to Japan deploying the Self-Defense Forces to exercise her nation's right to collective self-defense.

Takaichi said she would not retract the comment since it was made in line with the past government stance.

But she added that in the future she would be more careful when speaking about a specific situation in the committee session as she had last week.

Takaichi was also asked by another CDP lawmaker, Chinami Nishimura, to retract a comment she made during the election campaign for LDP president in which she claimed that foreign tourists had kicked deer in Nara Park.

Takaichi explained that she personally warned an English-speaking tourist who kicked a deer in the park. She added that she would not withdraw a comment made before she became prime minister.

She also said that she had created a new ministerial council within her Cabinet to consider how to realize an orderly and inclusive society with foreigners.

Nishimura also pointed to baseless claims on social media that libeled foreigners and asked Takaichi her view of such developments.

Takaichi said it was imperative that everyone increase their information literacy to deal with the large volume of inaccurate information emerging on social media.

The prime minister was also pressed about a comment made on Nov. 7 regarding the primary balance.

When asked if that was an indication of ending the government goal of reaching a primary balance surplus in the current fiscal year, Takaichi said she only intended to state a change in policy course. 

She said the government will instead begin considering the possibility of looking at the primary balance over the course of a number of years rather than a specific fiscal year.

A surplus in the primary balance would mean government programs were being paid for by tax and other revenues without relying on issuing government bonds.

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