I live in Taiwan and I think you're reading a little too much into the "special relationship" here. Japan's concerns are borne more out of the practical fact th

I live in Taiwan and I think you're reading a little too much into the "special relationship" here. Japan's concerns are borne more out of the practical fact that if China takes Taiwan life is going to get a lot more difficult for Japan, not the mutual fondness the Japanese and Taiwanese have for each other. The Japan-Taiwan relationship isn't super comparable to the US-Philippine relationship either. The program you refer to, under which non-immigrant Filipinos could join the US Navy, was built on the presence of US bases in the Philippines. The program ended in 1992, the same year the US Naval Base in Subic Bay was closed. Although Japan is getting closer to Taiwan today because of the China threat, Japan still does not officially recognize Taiwan, has no military bases in Taiwan, etc. Japan and Taiwan dispute the Senkaku Islands. Finally, despite the fact that modern-day Taiwanese and Japanese people for the most part have very favorable views of each other and tourism between the countries was very popular pre-pandemic, Japan's history with Taiwan's indigenous people is not pretty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_under_Japanese_rule#Annexation_and_armed_resistance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_under_Japanese_rule#Ann...