‘JAPAN MUST RESPOND’: Tokyo has been preparing for emergencies such as a Taiwan contingency, which would impact Japan given its proximity, Shigeru Kitamura said By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA Bolstering deterrence and deepening Taiwan-Japan relations are crucial to stability in the Taiwan Strait, former Japanese national security adviser Shigeru Kitamura said on Thursday, adding that the two nations’ coast guards could conduct joint drills. Kitamura made the comment during a discussion on Japan’s role in the Indo-Pacific hosted by the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute on Thursday. The event was also attended by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator and Hudson Institute senior fellow Jason Hsu (許毓仁). China is nearing completion of its long-range ballistic miss