Insights | Takaichi's far-right ties could put Japan at risk of repeating past mistakes

　　David Gosset, a specialist in global affairs and sinology, and founder of the China-Europe-America Global Initiative, said during an interview with China News Network that the remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the Taiwan Question are “completely wrong” and “divisive.”

　　He noted that Takaichi is a “Japanese nationalist,” and that her statements about Taiwan are highly damaging, because the Taiwan Question is purely China’s internal affair and Japan has no place to interfere in any way.

　　Gosset stressed that Takaichi’s comments evoke, especially among Chinese people, very terrible memories of WWII. He said Takaichi has a revisionist view of history and is connected to far-right forces in Japanese society that try to forget and ignore the past. If this continues, she will put Japan at the risk of repeating the same mistakes, Gosset said.

　　Japanese militarism reached its peak in the 1930s and dragged East Asia into a catastrophe. Japan itself also experienced the "nightmare" of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Gosset said. Citing Germany and his native France, he noted that both countries were able to "reconcile" after World War II because Germany chose to face its history, whereas, for some reason, Japan’s process of acknowledging its mistakes has not been the same. Therefore, he is worried that China-Japan relations may fall back into the risks of the past.

　　When discussing Takaichi’s military expansion, Gosset criticized her statements on nuclear matters as “completely unacceptable.” He said that in a world where countries need to work together against nuclear proliferation, any sign of proliferation in Japan would be a “tremendous and tragic irony,” because “the Japanese people themselves were the victims of two nuclear bombs.” 

　　Nevertheless, Gosset believes that the crisis must not be allowed to escalate. He emphasized that the key lies in whether Sanae Takaichi can prove she is a "real leader" because “a real leader does not divide," but "unites people and countries."