Tabletop Wargames Reflect Japan’s Increasingly Vocal Support of Taiwan

Recent war game simulations reflect Japan’s increasingly outspoken stance toward China’s aggression in the Taiwan Strait.

Representatives from Taiwan, Japan, and the United States take part in tabletop war games organized by the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo on July 16. Courtesy of Taiwan's Central News Agency

Japan’s former prime minister Taro Aso said Tuesday that the United States, Japan, and other nations need to show a strong resolve to defend Taiwan if it is attacked. Mr. Aso made the remarks during a three-day visit to Taiwan. He is the most senior-level Japanese political official to visit Taiwan in over 50 years.

Mr. Aso’s remarks voiced Japan’s increasingly outspoken attitude about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, which, he said, is “gradually tilting toward a time of emergency.”