Japan lodges diplomatic protest after China issues travel advisory
BEIJING — Japan formally protested Saturday after China advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, in a dispute tied to remarks by Japan’s new prime minister about Taiwan.
Tokyo lodged a diplomatic protest and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara publicly urged Beijing to take “appropriate measures,” Kyodo News reported. Kihara told reporters that, because the two governments have clear differences, sustained and multilayered communication is essential.
China's advisory and its rationale
China on Friday recommended that its nationals refrain from visiting Japan in the near term. The advisory cited reported attacks on Chinese people in Japan and criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for what it called “erroneous remarks” on Taiwan, saying those comments harmed the atmosphere for China–Japan exchanges. Notices posted on the Chinese embassy website in Tokyo framed this latest announcement as stronger than previous security warnings.
Economic and diplomatic fallout
Japan is a popular destination for Chinese tourists and the advisory could have economic consequences. Several Chinese airlines quickly offered no-penalty refunds on tickets to Japan after the announcement, though the ultimate impact on travel plans remained uncertain.
The advisory and subsequent exchanges underscore fragile ties between Tokyo and Beijing. Takaichi, who took office last month, has advocated bolstering Japan’s military capabilities to deter perceived threats from China and to respond to competing claims over contested waters in the western Pacific.
“A Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute ‘an existential threat’ to Japan,” Takaichi told parliament, saying such a scenario might require use of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
China reacted strongly to that comment. Among the responses was a now-deleted social media post from China’s consul general in Osaka that read, in translation, “we have no choice but to cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us.” The post prompted a Japanese diplomatic protest and a week-long back-and-forth between the two governments.
Regional context
Beijing claims Taiwan — a self-governing island — as part of its territory, and in recent years it has conducted military drills near the island. Neither the United States nor Japan has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but the U.S. remains the island’s main supplier of defense equipment and opposes resolving the dispute by force. Japan is a key U.S. security ally and hosts American forces at multiple bases, including a major naval facility south of Tokyo.
The episode highlights how sensitive comments and social-media outbursts can quickly escalate into broader diplomatic and economic tensions between two of Asia’s largest powers.
