As Japan Seeks New Leader, Analysts Say China Policy Unlikely to Change

TAIPEI - As Japan eyes contenders to replace the unpopular Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who effectively announced his resignation by not running for reelection as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, analysts expect the island nation will not change its China policy under new leadership.

Analysts say that whoever wins the party leadership role will likely continue the overall foreign policy trend maintained by Suga and his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister on Sept. 16, 2020, citing health reasons. Suga in his brief tenure pushed back against China's increasingly assertive behavior, and in April, he was the first foreign leader President Joe Biden welcomed in person at the White House. Among the topics covered was “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to Kyodo News. “Since World War II, Japan has always maintained the belief that only through gaining the trust and support of the United States can Japan maximize its national interests,” Chen Wen-chia, an advisor at the Taipei-based Taiwan Japan Academy and a professor at Kainan University in Taiwan, told VOA Mandarin. “Regardless of who wins the September 29 election, the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party’s foreign policy is unlikely to change,” said Izuru Makihara, a professor at the prestigious University of Tokyo focusing on postwar Japanese political history. “They will align with the U.S., view Beijing as a rival, and support Taiwan.”