With sushi lunches and chocolate bars adorned with the face of Japan’s new prime minister, Taiwanese businesses, officials and citizens are rallying to support their neighbor as it faces pressure from Beijing over remarks that Tokyo could intervene militarily to defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack.
After Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan said this month that an attempt by Beijing to take over Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan, Beijing has sent military ships to patrol disputed waters near Japan, advised its citizens not to travel to the country, and signaled that it would restrict imports of Japanese seafood.
This is painfully familiar territory for Taiwan, which has faced increasing economic and military threats as China has sought to isolate it from international support. And Japan has seen a resumption of public support for Taiwan in the face of Beijing’s insistence that the island democracy is part of China’s territory.
When Beijing banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples in 2021, Japan ordered a record 19,000 tons of the fruit that year, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — Ms. Takaichi’s political mentor — posed with a Taiwanese pineapple.
Now Taiwan is eager to return the favor. The government in Taipei has lifted all restrictions on imports of Japanese food, including seafood, that had been in place since the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011. A day before that announcement on Friday, Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, posted a video of himself eating a plate of sushi that included scallops from the Japanese island of Hokkaido and yellowtail from Kagoshima in southern Kyushu.
“What are you guys eating? Maybe now is a good time to eat Japanese food,” he said, without mentioning Ms. Takaichi’s remarks. The president said his sushi lunch, which included local cuttlefish and tamagoyaki made from Taiwanese eggs, was a demonstration of the two countries’ “firm friendship.”
In Hsinchu, the home of the chip-making giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a former county councilor pledged to give a thousand local residents 18,000 yen each, about $114, to use while traveling in Japan. (The leader of the Conservative Party of Japan, Naoki Hyakuta, previously said that if each Japanese citizen spent about 18,000 yen, that would make up for the annual shortfall in revenue from Chinese tourists.)
The former county councilor, Sun Chin-ching, told local media that he had gotten between 70 and 80 phone calls about the offer since he announced it on Sunday. “Sanae Takaichi has shown her support to Taiwan, and we Taiwanese should support her in return,” he told Formosa TV News Network.
Other Taiwanese politicians have posted photos of themselves on social media eating sushi or loading up on groceries at the Japanese supermarket Lopia, which has outlets in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday called on citizens to eat sushi and drink Japanese beer, posting an emoji of Taiwan’s flag, followed by a heart and an emoji of Japan’s flag.
At a Lopia store in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, colorful leaflets with illustrations of Mr. Lai eating sushi advertised discounted “Taiwan-Japanese friendship” sushi sets on Monday. Tai Hsu-kung, 51, who works in I.T., was browsing the selection of sushi and eel rice bowls. After reading about the potential Chinese ban on Japanese seafood, Mr. Tai decided to buy more Japanese products.
“As Taiwanese people, we should definitely support Japan,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you support a friend when they are being bullied?”
One of Taiwan’s largest food companies, I-Mei Foods, is also considering mass producing a limited-series chocolate bar that features pictures of Ms. Takaichi on its wrapper. According to a company spokeswoman, I-Mei’s chief executive had commissioned the commemorative item after Ms. Takaichi’s election. It was not for sale to the general public. But in the last few days, the company has gotten “around 100” queries from customers wanting to buy the candy.
Japan and Taiwan, less than 70 miles from Japanese territory, have gotten closer in the face of China’s expanding military presence in the region. Analysts in Taiwan say that is a significant factor in a call from Mr. Xi to President Trump on Monday, in which the Chinese leader stressed the importance of “Taiwan’s return to China.”
“It’s quite clear that mainland China is using Washington to put pressure on Tokyo,” said Huang Kwei-bo, professor of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “It’s showing that it has good communication with Trump and can speak with him anytime.”
In Taiwan, though, the Japanese leader’s forceful response to China appears to have inspired public support, with residents calling for more people to buy “democracy seafood” and “freedom scallops” from Japan.
Lin Yueh-hsin, 69, in New Taipei City posted photos of herself eating Japanese scallops on Monday.
She told The Times that she was moved by the number of comments she received from Japanese internet users expressing thanks.
“True friends should support each other. So let’s ship all the scallops over here,” she said. “Whatever they won’t buy, we will buy it. Wherever they won’t go, we will go.”
Kiuko Notoya in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Lily Kuo is a China correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei.
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