Japanese PM: Taiwan Invasion Grounds for Mobilizing Self-Defense Force

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae says that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute grounds for Japan's Self-Defense Force to mobilize.

Transcript

00:00Japan could deploy its self-defense forces if China invades Taiwan.

00:05That's according to Japanese Prime Minister Takeichi Sanae.

00:09She was responding to an opposition lawmaker's question about how a Taiwan conflict could

00:13pose a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

00:17Takeichi said the government would be responsible for evacuating Japanese nationals from Taiwan,

00:23suggesting the self-defense forces would play a key role.

00:26The term survival-threatening situation comes from a 2015 law that allows Japan to mobilize

00:32its military even if it is not directly attacked.