Tokyo, Jan. 3 -- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Japan's potential role in a Taiwan emergency have fuelled tensions with China and raised concerns that the lack of moderating voices around her could leave her hardline positions largely unchecked, Kyodo News reported.

With senior moderates within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a centrist coalition partner distancing themselves from Takaichi, doubts are growing about her ability to manage diplomacy beyond China and coordinate broader economic and social policies, according to Kyodo News.

An opposition lawmaker warned that Takaichi's decision to form a coalition with a conservative party ahead of becoming Japan's first female prime minister on October 21 "has lef...