'Zero Day Attack' premieres in Japan, sending a dangerous signal

Editor's note: Zhang Hua, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a researcher at the Taiwan Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Recently, the "anti-China" TV series "Zero Day Attack," funded by the Taiwan authorities, held its premiere in Japan. A number of Japanese politicians attended the screening and made inflammatory remarks, sending a seriously misguided signal to the outside world.

According to Taiwan-based media, "Zero Day Attack" was produced by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces on the island with the backing of the Taiwan authorities. The storyline is premised on a hypothetical scenario in which the Chinese People's Liberation Army takes military action against Taiwan. It portrays the possible conditions in Taiwan during a cross-Strait conflict. 

The TV series grossly exaggerates the mainland's so-called "hostile" stance toward Taiwan, stirs up "anti-China resistance" sentiment among the public on the island, and openly calls for external forces to intervene in case of a cross-Strait conflict. In essence, it is an unvarnished work peddling "Taiwan independence."  

On August 7, the TV series premiered in Tokyo, Japan, and began streaming on Amazon Prime Video Japan on August 15. Japanese politicians, including Keiji Furuya and Minoru Kihara, attended the premiere and, afterwards, made provocative comments to the media, hyping up the so-called "Chinese military threat to Taiwan" and declaring that "only people from Taiwan could make such a series," in a clear display of support.  

The screening of "Zero Day Attack" in Japan, together with the conduct and rhetoric of certain Japanese politicians, has sent a profoundly wrong signal to the outside world.

First, Japan should consider seriously reflecting on the harm it inflicted on the people of other countries during World War II, particularly on compatriots in China's Taiwan region. 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, a time when people around the world are reviewing the grave devastation brought by Japan's war of aggression and colonial rule. 

In 1895, after Japan's illegal seizure of Taiwan, it brutally suppressed the resistance of the local people, plundered the island's resources, and launched the so-called "imperialization" campaign to indoctrinate people in Taiwan. 

It even forced Taiwan's residents to serve Japan's colonial expansion, thus inflicting untold suffering on Taiwan's society and its people. In recent years, Japan has gone so far as to repeatedly hype up the prospect of conflict in the Taiwan Straits, peddling the line that "a contingency in Taiwan is a contingency for Japan." 

Former Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces, Shigeru Iwasaki, has even taken up a post as "policy adviser" to the Lai Ching-te authorities. Now, Japanese politicians have attended and endorsed the premiere of a war-mongering TV series, with its online release date in Japan deliberately set for August 15, which is the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. 

All of this shows that certain people in Japan have yet to sincerely draw lessons from history and are instead rubbing salt into the wounds of people who once suffered deeply under Japanese aggression.

Second, Japan must also consider whether it intends to back the "pro-independence" authorities on the island in further pursuing their separatist agenda. Recently, the Lai Ching-te administration suffered a major setback when its bid to remove a Kuomintang legislator failed. At the same time, factional infighting within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been escalating, with contests over nominations for the primary race of the 2026 elections already unfolding. 

Adding to these domestic pressures, the United States has imposed tariffs on Taiwan's exports that are significantly higher than those applied to Japan, South Korea, and other regions. Together, these developments have left Lai in an unprecedented political bind on the island. 

Public opinion polls by institutions such as My Formosa, the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, and TVBS all show a sharp drop in satisfaction with Lai's governance, with his approval rating hovering at around 30 percent. This is, without question, a major political blow to Lai. Against this backdrop, the Lai administration has sought to rally its core "green camp" support base through the release of "Zero Day Attack," while stoking "anti-China resistance" sentiment among the public as a way to divert attention from its troubles. 

By allowing the TV series to be streamed on Japanese platforms and with certain Japanese politicians openly lending it their support, Japan is, in effect, providing Lai with a degree of political backing that could help him navigate his current difficulties on the island.

It must also be pointed out that the screening of "Zero Day Attack" has drawn strong criticism from patriotic compatriots on the island, with political forces such as the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party openly questioning its sources of funding and underlying motives. 

Recent developments, including the results of the first round of large-scale recall votes in Taiwan and the public backlash against Lai Ching-te's restrictions on cross-Strait exchanges, show clearly that his "anti-China resistance" policies do not enjoy public support. The mainstream public sentiment on the island still favors peace, development, exchange and cooperation. Likewise, in Japan, support for the screening of "Zero Day Attack" comes only from a handful of politicians who run counter to the broader interests of China-Japan relations. These are frustrated political actors whose backing of Lai Ching-te and promotion of the TV series should not, and will not, represent the mainstream of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's China policy.

All sectors should remain vigilant against the collusion between Japanese right-wing forces and "pro-independence" separatists in Taiwan, whose aim is to undermine cross-Strait relations and damage China-Japan ties. Such attempts must be firmly opposed in order to safeguard the hard-won fruits of victory in World War II and uphold the post-war international order. 

People on both sides of the Straits are part of the Chinese nation and share the same ancestral roots. The fact that the Taiwan authorities chose this particular moment to release the TV series in Japan reveals their ill intentions. It is an act that disregards the greater national interest and deliberately reopens historical wounds. Such a betrayal of national identity and inversion of historical truth will inevitably be met with firm opposition and condemnation from compatriots on both sides of the Straits.  

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