Commentary: Why Japan-China tensions won’t resolve anytime soon

SINGAPORE: After several weeks of suspended flights, seafood import bans, cancelled concerts performed to empty arenas, increased military activity, and even fire control radar lock-ons by fighter aircraft, Japan-China ties remain tense. This most recent spat arose from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s answer to parliamentary questions from opposition lawmaker and former foreign minister Katsuya Okada on Nov 7 about crisis scenarios involving a Taiwan blockade. Ms Takaichi said that if China launched military action against Taiwan and attacked US military forces, this could pose a “survival threatening situation” for Japan but that any decisions must be considered comprehensively. The…