The following is from Yoshiko Sakurai's regular column in today's Sankei Shimbun titled Toward a Beautiful, Strong, and Healthy Nation.
This article also proves that she is a national treasure, a supreme national treasure defined by Saicho.
It is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but for people around the world.
The emphasis in the text other than the headline is mine.
The Realities of China: Speaking Directly to the U.S.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has a critical role in the US-China confrontation.
It is time for him to directly tell the U.S. the reality of China, which Japan has seen through more than 1,000 years of exchanges with China.
At the Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) held in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Austin failed to meet with Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Li Shangfu.
Li met with other defense ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized powers (G7), including Japan, to the exclusion of the U.S.
Divisiveness is their specialty.
China has reportedly turned down U.S. requests for dialogue more than a dozen times at the high-level and nearly a dozen times at the operational level over the past year or so.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, when he was prime minister, reportedly explained China's thinking to the G7 leaders from the standpoint of having the most extended history of interaction with China of any country.
The leaders, who initially paid little heed, began to be alarmed by the Hong Kong crackdown, the Uyghur genocide, and China's military buildup in the South China Sea.
Although the U.S.-China defense ministers' meeting in Singapore did not occur, it was revealed that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Burns had visited China in May.
On June 2, U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Sullivan said that the U.S. does not need to increase its nuclear capability to deter Russia or China and that the U.S. is "prepared to come to nuclear disarmament talks with China and Russia unconditionally.
The U.S.-China dialogue is progressing in multiple layers, and President Biden is seeking to go beyond that by adopting a policy of appeasement.
However, the prime minister, a longtime diplomat, should directly tell the U.S. that appeasement is dangerous, based on Japan's experience.
When the second Abe administration took office, China demanded, among other things, that Japan not visit Yasukuni Shrine as a condition for holding a Japan-China summit.
The Abe administration, while stating that "the door to dialogue is always open," firmly refused to accept any talks with conditions attached.
Finally, President Xi Jinping gave in, and for the first time, a summit meeting between the two countries was held without conditions.
China will meet when they feel it is necessary.
They will increase their demands if we beg China to meet with us.
At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Mr. Biden said that a thaw with China is near.
A thaw with a China that believes in power will not come through a friendly, straightforward approach.
De-escalation will come only through a show of will and strength, not through entreaties, appeasement, or wishful thinking.
In the process leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration passed intelligence and other information to China from late fall 2021 to February 2010, "begging Russia to dissuade it from invading," the New York Times reported.
Prime Minister Kishida, who has been in charge of Sino-Russian diplomacy with Mr. Abe, is responsible for advising the U.S. that this appeasement policy repeated by the Biden administration is wrong for the sake of Japan's national interests.
What is the reason for the U.S. to repeatedly ask China for talks?
Is it because of the hope that China will make a good-faith effort to lobby Russia to negotiate a peace deal and cease-fire in the war of aggression against Ukraine?
A successful outcome would score points for U.S. President Biden and strengthen his position in the presidential election.
However, China is clearly taking Russia's side.
Moreover, it perceives Russia's exhaustion as a benefit to China and is pursuing a global strategy to strengthen China's influence.
The June 1 meeting of the foreign ministers of the five emerging BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in South Africa discussed the carving out of a global reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar and a significant increase in the number of member countries. The five countries
The BRICS nations account for 42% of the world's population and 33% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). Still, China seeks to expand its membership and become a power comparable to the Group of Seven (G7) nations.
We should assume that China will not distance itself from Russia.
Earlier in March, at the China-Russia summit in Moscow, President Xi Jinping said that China and Russia are "closer than allies," indicating that China stands on Russia's side.
He said that China and Russia would further promote the significant changes currently occurring in the world.
China will replace the U.S. as the creator and guardian of the world order.
We can see that they want to usher in a "Pax Sinica," a world dominated by China.
An appeasement approach is ineffective in motivating China, which believes in power.
It's dangerous if you don't show strong determination and muscular strength.
To repeat this message and convey it properly at this critical time of significant change in world affairs would be a major contribution to the world.
The G7 leaders united at the Hiroshima Summit to strengthen support for Ukraine.
Our country has decided to send about 100 old vehicles of the Self-Defense Forces and approximately 30,000 emergency rations, but we need to rethink the meaning of Ukraine as a country and of the war in Ukraine.
Supporting Ukraine is not only about defending democracy and freedom.
It is about protecting Japan and Taiwan.
If Russia's valor strategy succeeds and China is forced to fight the same war of aggression as Russia, Taiwan, and Japan will find themselves in a dire situation.
Walter Russell Mead, a well-known foreign affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote that Ukraine would become a second Israel.
Like Israel, they will be the country that confronts Russia with more determination than any other country for generations to come.
They will never give up and will stop Russia.
They will be the most reassuring ally for the U.S. and Europe.
That is why we must strongly support them now.
Japan must also have a strong will.
We must do two things to show China that we will not accept any aggression.
First, it should implement a broader and more vital engagement with Ukraine.
Second, as a decent democracy, we must have a regular army to deal with the Chinese threat.
It is the reason why the Constitution needs to be revised.
If Japan cannot do that, it won't be easy to protect the nation.
Constitutional reform is Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's historic mission.
