Why Japan’s drift to the right means a ‘long-term struggle’ for China

The diplomatic crisis between Tokyo and Beijing is the result of a years-long fundamental shift to the right in Japan – and part of a “long-term struggle” that China must prepare for, according to analysts.

The assessment comes as relations between the two countries nosedive, prompted by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion earlier this month that a hypothetical conflict in the Taiwan Strait would trigger a military response from Tokyo.

For Beijing, the comments ventured into a “core interest” and warranted economic retaliation and furious daily rebukes, including a protest to the United Nations, warnings to its citizens against travelling to Japan and suspending Japanese seafood imports.

Beijing has also revived the spectre of Japan’s wartime past, connecting Takaichi’s comments to Japan’s invasion of China nearly a century ago.

“China will never allow Japanese right-wing forces to turn back the clock of history,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday, according to Chinese state media.

“[Mainland China] will never allow external forces to interfere in Taiwan, and will never allow Japanese militarism to resurface.”