Japan Says in UN Letter PM Takaichi’s Remarks on Taiwan Misrepresented by Beijing

‘We cannot accept what China is saying,’ the Japanese government’s top spokesperson said.

Kazuyuki Yamazaki, permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations, speaks during a U.N. Security Council Session on Artificial Intelligence at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Dec. 19, 2024. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations has rejected Beijing’s interpretation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks regarding Taiwan, calling the Chinese regime’s claims “inconsistent with the facts” in a Nov. 24 letter submitted to the United Nations.

“China’s assertion that Japan would exercise the right of self-defense even in the absence of an armed attack is erroneous,” Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki wrote in a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.