What does Japan think about China and Taiwan? Abe may have the words for PM Kishida

Ex-PM Shinzo Abe is turning out to be more vocal on many issues now than when he was leader, which analysts say could spell trouble for the less hawkish PM Fumio Kishida

While Kishida has not commented on the ex-leader’s remarks, things could come to a head if Abe promotes a shift away from the one-China policy, an observer says

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PM Fumio Kishida gained power thanks to support by Shinzo Abe. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 11:30am, 4 May 2022Updated: 2:45pm, 4 May 2022

Japan’s prime ministers have mostly been content to move to the backbenches once their tenure is over, but Shinzo Abe breaks that mould.

He is arguably more outspoken on many issues today than when he was in power from 2012 to 2020, analysts said, and that creates significant complications for the far less hawkish Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Nowhere is Abe more vocal than on matters of national security and the purported threat posed to the Indo-Pacific region by China’s rising assertiveness.

Late last year, for example, Abe used two public speaking events to accuse Beijing of “provoking, often bullying” neighbouring countries, a reference to Chinese threats aimed at Taiwan, and also warned that “adventurism” in military affairs “could be suicidal”.

Ignoring resistance from China on his original comments, Abe has more recently used the Ukraine war to call for a stiffer international position on self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.