About three quarters of Japanese now fear a Chinese attack on Taiwan. An even higher number, 86%, support Japanese sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
These sentiments show that the neutral and sometimes detached Japanese electorate is becoming increasingly hawkish as fears over the increasing power of China crystallize public opinion.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has also recently made reference to Putin’s “aggression” and suggested that the potential for the embattled dictator to use nuclear weapons was increasingly real.