"License Plate Targeting China?"... Controversy Grows Over Japanese PM's '37-77' Vehicle Number

China Claims "Same Date as Marco Polo Bridge Incident"
Debate Over Alleged Intentionality

As tensions between China and Japan escalate following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion of intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency, her personal vehicle's license plate number, '37-77,' has sparked a new controversy.

The license plate of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's vehicle. Weibo

On November 25, a claim rapidly spread across Chinese online communities that "Prime Minister Takaichi's license plate reads '37-77,' which evokes July 7, 1937, the date of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident." Some users alleged that the Toyota JZA70 Supra she previously drove also carried the same license plate, raising suspicions that "it is hard to see this as a coincidence."

The license plate of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's vehicle. Weibo

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, referred to by China as the 'July 7th Incident,' was a historical event that triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War after Japanese and Chinese troops clashed at Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) in the outskirts of Beijing. Chinese netizens are claiming that the Prime Minister's use of a license plate number directly tied to a date of historical trauma may be intentional.

This controversy is reminiscent of the '731' scandal involving former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In 2013, international criticism arose when a photo was released of Abe sitting in the cockpit of an Air Self-Defense Force 'Blue Impulse' training jet with the aircraft number '731.'

The number '731' symbolizes Unit 731 of the Kwantung Army, notorious for human experimentation and biological warfare during World War II. At the time, China strongly protested, calling it "historical distortion and provocation," and U.S. media also criticized the incident, comparing it to "the German Chancellor sitting in a fighter jet bearing a Nazi insignia."

However, some argue that, unlike the incident involving former Prime Minister Abe, the current controversy is an "overinterpretation." They point out that Prime Minister Takaichi's birthday is March 7 and her husband, former House of Representatives member Taku Yamamoto, was born on July 7, suggesting that the license plate may simply reflect personal significance rather than conveying a political message.