Tokyo, Sept. 11 -- Japan and Taiwan face a growing military threat from China and should continue strengthening their defensive capabilities to protect their democratic systems, China-born Japanese lawmaker Hei Seki said, according to a Central News Agency (CNA) report.

Speaking at a seminar in Taipei on Japan-Taiwan security cooperation, Seki cited an old Chinese saying to describe the close relationship between Japan and Taiwan amid China's expansionism.

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," Seki said, emphasising that Japan and Taiwan are closely connected and that an attack by Beijing on one would pose an immediate danger to the other, the CNA report said.

"As long as the Chinese Communist Party regime exists, it will nev...