Japan’s new government develops its strategy for defending Taiwan and South Korea following talks with Donald Trump

On November 7, 2025, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addressed parliament, declaring that her government would regard a Chinese armed attack on Taiwan as an “existential threat.” This stance would justify deploying Japan’s Self-Defense Forces overseas along critical maritime routes in the First Island Chain.

Those routes span the Pacific from the Japanese archipelago through the Okinawa Islands, Taiwan, and the Philippines, extending all the way to Borneo. In particular, she modeled a scenario of a military blockade of Taiwan, in which Tokyo would be forced to act—both to protect its citizens and to support joint defense infrastructure with the United States.

According to her, the situation around Taiwan has become “substantially more serious,” and the country must prepare for the worst escalation scenarios.