Japan rejects US intelligence assessment of a 'significant shift' in its Taiwan stance

Tokyo [Japan], March 19: Japan has not changed its position on how it determines ​an existential threat, its top government said on Friday, rejecting an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies of a "significant shift" in ​its stance on Taiwan.
The agencies ​said in an annual threat report ⁠on Wednesday that Japanese Prime Minister ​Sanae Takaichi's remarks that a hypothetical Chinese ​attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese military response departed from the rhetoric of ​previous Japanese leaders.
"The government's position of ​judging an existential crisis situation with all the information ⁠gathers is consistent with the past," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press briefing.
"The assessment that there has ​been a ​major ⁠shift is not accurate."
China, which views Taiwan as its own ​territory, has responded furiously to ​Takaichi's ⁠remarks, urging its people not to travel to Japan and choking off some ⁠exports.
Takaichi ​has also repeatedly maintained ​that her stance was consistent with longstanding Japanese policy.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation