49% of Japanese Support, 44% Oppose Exercising Collective Self-Defense Rights in Taiwan Contingency

As Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that Japan may exercise its collective self-defense rights in the event of a Taiwan contingency, a recent public opinion poll has revealed that Japanese citizens are sharply divided on the issue.

Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan, is attending the second session of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held on the 1st at Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center (HICO), Gyeongbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Kyodo News, a telephone survey conducted on November 15-16 among 1,046 eligible voters showed that 48.8% supported the exercise of collective self-defense rights in the event of a Taiwan contingency, while 44.2% opposed it.

On November 7, Prime Minister Takaichi became the first sitting Japanese leader to state in the House of Representatives (Lower House) that a "Taiwan contingency" could constitute a "situation threatening Japan's survival," thereby allowing the exercise of collective self-defense rights.

Regarding Prime Minister Takaichi's push to increase the defense budget, 60.4% of respondents expressed support, while 34.7% were opposed.

The approval rating for Prime Minister Takaichi's cabinet stood at 69.9%, up 5.5 percentage points from the previous month. The proportion of respondents who said they did not support the cabinet was 16.5%.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the main opposition party, continued to criticize Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan as inappropriate. According to Kyodo News, Noda Yoshihiko, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, said at a meeting in Nagasaki Prefecture that "Prime Minister Takaichi's words have gone too far, leading to a very serious phase in Japan-China relations," and described the remarks as "quite careless."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.