How Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 Taiwan Trip Helped Japan Decide to Rearm

Time and again, history shows the power of unintended consequences. Today, more than three years after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial trip to Taiwan, a pivotal knock-on effect is only now becoming apparent.

What was widely expected at the time from Pelosi’s visit — the first in a quarter century by one of the most powerful of US political officials — was a sharp reaction in Beijing, where the Communist leadership claims the island as part of its territory. And, indeed, China massively ramped up military exercises around Taiwan, including repeated crossings of a US-defined median line in the Taiwan Strait.