Former minister talks Takaichi, TaiwanBy Chen Yu-fu / Staff Reporter, in TokyoThere is no mistake in Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks regarding a “Taiwan contingency,” former Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Akira Amari said in an recent interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). Amari said that on the Taiwan issue, the position of the Liberal Democratic Party administration has not changed and would not change. Former Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Akira Amari gestures during an interview in Tokyo in an undated photograph. “Establishing TSMC production sites outside of Taiwan can help deter Chinese aggression, while enhancing the stability of the global supply chain,” he said. Regarding semiconductors, very few nations are capable of high-end manufacturing — essentially only Taiwan, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea.

Source: Taipei Times March 01, 2026 17:16 UTC