False posts target Japan PM Takaichi’s grandfather on Taiwan social media

TOKYO – False claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s grandfather served as an Imperial Japanese Army officer during the invasion of China have been spreading on Taiwanese social media, a non-profit group has said.

Taiwan FactCheck Center, which probes disinformation online, said 21 accounts, including 13 believed to be Chinese, were found to have misnamed the Japanese leader’s grandfather and used an unrelated photo.

Ms Takaichi’s office told Kyodo News, “He had a different name and he was not a Japanese soldier.”

Some posts identified her grandfather as holding the rank of major in the former Japanese military and attached a photo showing a man holding a sword and forcing a Chinese person to kneel.

According to the centre, the name in the posts was not that of Ms Takaichi’s grandfather, and the photo came from a publication and had no connection to her family.

The centre has urged people to be cautious, saying users are abusing social media to spread false information to influence how Taiwanese people think.

The posts began circulating after Ms Takaichi said in Parliament in early November 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially involving action by its Self-Defense Forces in support of the United States.

The centre confirmed the first post appeared early in October 2025 on a Baidu bulletin board, a platform widely used in China.

After Ms Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks, similar posts increased on X and Facebook in Taiwan and spread rapidly. The posts are accessible in Japan. KYODO NEWS