PRESS CONFERENCE
How Japan Can Respond to a Taiwan Crisis
Katsuya Yamamoto, Director, Strategy and Deterrence Program/Senior Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

11:00-12:00 Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Language: The speech will be in English and Q&A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.

Since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan might draw in Japan, bilateral relations between Tokyo and Beijing have fallen into a standoff. The diplomatic impasse has forced many in Japan to consider how their nation could actually react if such an invasion took place so close to its own territory.

To discuss how Japan might respond, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan will host Katsuya Yamamoto, a former rear admiral in the Maritime Self-Defense Force who is now a senior research fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a Tokyo-based think tank. A former surface warfare officer who commanded a destroyer, Yamamoto has worked for Japan's Joint Chiefs of Staff and has served as both naval attaché to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and a liaison officer to the U.S. Naval War College.

A specialist on the military strategy of China, Yamamoto has warned that a conflict in Taiwan would likely draw China into attacking U.S. bases in Japan. He has also written on how Japan can uphold its maritime security in an era when the People's Liberation Army Navy is extending its reach further into the Pacific Ocean. Please join us to hear Yamamoto's analysis of these challenges and Japan's options amid the shifting geopolitical and military balance in East Asia.

How to attend: 
Please register by emailing front@fccj.or.jp with your name and the name of your media outlet. FCCJ members should also include their membership number. Doors will open 15 minutes before the event.

Livestream: A URL link will be provided to Club members. Please inform us in advance at front@fccj.or.jp so we can send you the link.

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/uCq8w8FoL3PQugeA6      　

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event.

Professional Activities Committee