A senior Japanese diplomat has arrived in Beijing for talks aimed at de-escalating a row over Taiwan that has seen China warn its citizens against travelling to Japan.
But China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Japanese prime minister must withdraw her suggestion that Japan could send troops to assist Taiwan if Beijing attacked the self-governing island.
“Stop crossing the line and playing with fire, retract the wrongful remarks and deeds and honour its commitments to China with real action,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.
The row began when Sanae Takaichi told a parliamentary committee that the use of force by Beijing against Taiwan could constitute a “situation threatening Japan’s survival”, which would justify Tokyo deploying its forces.
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Japan’s post-war constitution limited the use of force to defending its territory but a 2015 law expanded the military’s mandate to allow Tokyo to come to the aid of an ally if the conflict represented an existential threat to Japan.
Takaichi, a conservative who took office last month, went further in on Taiwan than previous prime ministers who expressed support for its self-determination but did not say how Japan would respond if Beijing attacked the island.
She has refused to withdraw her remarks but said they did not represent a change of policy, adding that she would avoid talking about specific scenarios from now on.
China immediately condemned Takaichi’s statement and its consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, caused outrage with his response on social media.
“The filthy head that recklessly sticks itself in must be cut off without a moment’s hesitation,” he posted on X.
Last Friday, China’s foreign ministry advised citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and the education ministry on Sunday told Chinese students to carefully reconsider studying in the country. With almost 125,000 students enrolled at colleges and language schools in Japan, China accounts for more than a third of foreign students.
Chinese tourists make up about a quarter of foreign visitors to Japan every year and the South China Morning Post reported on Monday that an estimated 491,000 flight tickets to Japanese destinations have been cancelled since Saturday.
Shares in Japanese tourism-related companies fell sharply on Monday amid fears of the impact of Chinese tourists staying away.
Chinese coast guard vessels on Sunday sailed through waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which the Japanese call the Senkaku Islands. The same day, a commentary in the People’s Liberation Army Daily warned Japan against “misguided actions” that risk turning the entire country into a battlefield.
“Hyping military intervention in the Taiwan Straits situation will only lead Japan down a path of no return,” it said.
The dramatic deterioration in relations between Beijing and Tokyo comes only a few weeks after a friendly meeting between Takaichi and Xi Jinping at a summit in South Korea when they pledged to deepen their relationship. The Japanese prime minister and Chinese premier Li Qiang will both be in Johannesburg next weekend for a G20 summit but the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday there were no plans for a meeting.
If the two sides fail to find a face-saving resolution to the dispute, Beijing could exert more economic pressure on Tokyo by refusing to export rare earth minerals used in advanced manufacturing. Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te on Monday accused China of undermining stability in the region with what he described as a “multifaceted attack” on Japan.
“I call on the international community to continue paying close attention and I also urge China to exercise restraint and demonstrate the conduct befitting a major power, rather than becoming a troublemaker for regional peace and stability,” he said.
