How Will Japan Prepare for a Taiwan Contingency?

Not sure why you are confused. Japan has made it clear that it will defend Taiwan . Japan knows that if China takes Taiwan, they are next.I've read that Japan's massive increases in Defense spending will lift it to 3rd place by country.You refer to the article as ironic, in ww2 the Japanese had my father in a camp.Nowadays they are close allies of Australia.

Wow, I never knew Taiwan was part of japan for it to make any contingency plans.

A historical perpetrator pretending to be a saviour and ally now?

How ironic this article has been.

I was curious about this non-apology allegation and at first google click I came on this Wiki.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

It took me 3 minutes to read through the 50+ list of Japans formal apologies since 1945.

Also found interesting that US has never expressed regret for the 200,000 civilian deaths arising from Hiroshima and Nagasaki N-Bombs.

Really @NB?
You might consider taking a lead from @mallee post.
I respectfully think its time to move on from exhuming wartime grievances of almost 80 years ago.
Otherwise we can all indulge in our own endless pit of self righteous bickering on blame for blood spilt, lives lost and destroyed and atrocities committed over 3 generations ago. Its a Pandora's box in which Britain as a former Imperial power has a pretty grim record. So please ln this season of good will, lets move on in this new century and millennium and try to learn from the past rather revisit it.

Thanks though surely I am not confused.

Sorry to hear japan had your dad as a POW, likewise for mine. japan is the only one that never apologise for their war crimes and anyone wish to call them an ally in modern day context is deluded in my opinion, no offence.

japan has been trying to break away from Article 9 for years, pretending to be ally of any countries by China and South Korea, o of course North Korea, why's that? Coz the atrocities done by the japanese that had gone unapologetic were the worst in the mentioned countries.

It's so easy to whitewash ones past, you just need time and relies on ignorance to skim through.

Have a search on Yasukuni Shrine - what it is, who visits it, why visit it? All these years since WWII.

Paper talks (so call "apologies") are easy yet pointless, the actions of the japanese governments to the shrine counter all the paper fluff they came out with.

In as much the sorry plight for the innocent civilian deaths of the bombing of japan. If the bombs had not been dropped, the war atrocities committed by the japanese would have been even greater, counting in the MILLIONS before the dropping of the bombs.

And if one think about the innocent japanese civilians - do a search on Google, "Unit 731" and find out more - this biological warfare R&D unit of the japanese summed it all about the war atrocities that they, the japanese, were so readied to use. Innocent they are huh??

You too Mate.

With due respect, some people can move on while others not able to.

On hind sight - I was simply mocking the hypocrisy of the japanese government, period.

Have a happy New Year.