On April 17, 2026, JS Ikazuchi, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer, transited the Taiwan Strait. This marked the fourth transit of the Taiwan Strait by a JMSDF vessel and the first since political tensions between Japan and China escalated following a series of measures implemented by China in response to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's remarks on November 7, 2025 regarding the possible recognition of a survival-threatening situation in the event of a Taiwan contingency. These measures included calls for Chinese citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, a ban on imports of Japanese seafood products, and export restrictions on dual-use products targeting twenty designated Japanese companies and organizations.