Beijing protests over former Japanese military chief’s Taiwan adviser role

Beijing has protested to Tokyo over the appointment of a former Japanese military chief as an adviser to the Taiwanese government.

Taiwanese media reported on Friday that Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) and a four-star air force general, had been confirmed as an honorary adviser to the Executive Yuan, the Taiwanese government’s highest administrative body.

An official from the Executive Yuan did not give details of the position but was quoted as saying they were “willing to listen to and promote any administrative proposal [from the adviser] as long as it is beneficial to Taiwan’s development”.

The post is unpaid.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning repeated Beijing’s position that Taiwan was an inseparable part of China and any external interference on this issue would not be tolerated.