Japan-Taiwan Ties Blossom As Regional Rivalry Grows

Japan has countered with uncharacteristic assertiveness. In November 2004, Japanese warships chased a Chinese submarine that had entered Japanese waters near Taiwan in what was widely seen as a test of Japan's resolve in defending the strategically sensitive zone.

Koizumi's government is also investing millions of dollars in a joint missile defense system with the United States. Some analysts say Taiwan could eventually become part of the system, turning it into a three-way defense against Chinese missiles.

Japan's pacifist constitution limits the country's ability to deploy its military abroad. But political leaders in both Japan and Taiwan are embracing a broad interpretation of a 1999 law allowing Japan to respond to threats in nearby waters. This, they say, could provide a legal basis for Japan to join the United States in responding to Chinese aggression.

Most of these leaders agree that Japan would be able to contribute rear-guard refueling, transportation and medical services and perhaps conduct search-and-rescue missions inside Taiwan. If Japanese ships or personnel providing such assistance were attacked, "it would mean war," said Tokuichiro Tamazawa, a leading LDP lawmaker long involved in the Taiwan issue.

Tadashi Ikeda, chief representative of the Interchange Association, Japan's unofficial embassy in Taipei, said Tokyo remained strongly in favor of a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue. But, he added, "there has always been a question of what Japan would do" in the event of Chinese aggression. "Now the Taiwanese can say that both the U.S. and Japan are on their side."

U.S. officials have cautiously welcomed the more assertive Japanese stance. But they have also expressed concern that too sudden a shift could embolden Chen, Taiwan's president, to take steps toward formal independence that could ignite a cross-strait conflict.

China's relations with Japan have nose-dived since Koizumi took office and promptly began paying annual visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's 2.5 million military dead, including World War II criminals. Japan and China have also become embroiled in disputes over territorial claims and oil and gas drilling rights in the East China Sea.

Chen said in the interview last week that relations between Japan and Taiwan were at their closest since the two countries' 1972 diplomatic break. Chen said he hoped it would lead to a three-way "quasi-military alliance" among the United States, Japan and Taiwan.

In contrast with the Chinese and Koreans both North and South, many Taiwanese view the years of Japanese colonial rule in sympathetic terms. Older Taiwanese often delight in speaking Japanese, the official language of their youth. Imperial-era structures, including the elegant Presidential Office Building that was once the seat of the Japanese governor, have been painstakingly preserved and declared national treasures.

Japan and Taiwan are exchanging a record 2.3 million tourists each year, and Japan remains Taiwan's largest trading partner. Large Japanese department stores and fast-food chains dominate the Taipei cityscape.

"The Japanese built universities, roads and other infrastructure. They educated us, they turned us into a more modern society," said Hwang Kuan-hu, a national policy adviser to Chen. "We welcome Japan becoming more involved again with Taiwan."

Not everyone in Taiwan shares that sentiment, particularly members of the opposition Nationalist Party, which favors closer ties with China. Earlier this year, the party took offense when Japanese and Taiwanese groups jointly erected a monument in a Taipei suburb honoring thousands of aboriginal Taiwanese who died fighting for the Japanese Imperial Army in Southeast Asia. A few weeks later, most of the monument was ordered dismantled by local Nationalist Party officials.

Ma Ying-jeou, the Nationalist Party chief who opinion polls indicate is the favorite to win Taiwan's 2008 presidential election, described the incident as a good example of the emotions that could be unleashed if the embrace of Japan goes too far.

Taiwanese who revel in the Japanese colonial years "are still brainwashed," Ma said. "It was not a just war, and Taiwan could have done better" without the citizens who now recall that period with fondness.

Special correspondent Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo contributed to this report.