Taiwan was not mentioned during Takaichi’s Oct 5 speech.
Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to take it.
To date, Takaichi has not retracted her controversial remarks suggesting that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo.
“It is unsurprising that Taiwan was not mentioned in her speech,” said Soh from RSIS, adding that “the fundamental source of tension remains unresolved”.
“China wants Takaichi to retract her statement on Taiwan and she cannot do so without risking political reputational damage, so a retraction is thus unlikely,” Soh said.
Chong from NUS said: “She did not disavow her previous statement, which at any rate was in response to a question rather than volunteered through prepared remarks.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS?
For now, signals remain mixed, experts said.
“A genuine thaw is less likely because Japan’s position on Taiwan is unlikely to change,” said Oh from the East Asia Institute.
Ren Xiao, a professor of international relations at Fudan University, similarly said Beijing was unlikely to see Takaichi’s latest remarks as signalling a fundamental shift “as long as she does not adjust her position drastically”.
The differences had “placed a ceiling” on how far relations could improve, he added.
