China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned its citizens against traveling to Japan in the near future, marking Beijing’s first major retaliatory move in an escalating dispute following comments by Japan’s Prime Minister, Sani Tatashi, who said Tokyo might intervene militarily if China uses force against Taiwan.
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In a statement issued Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said: “Recently, Japanese leaders have made blatantly provocative remarks regarding Taiwan, causing severe damage to the atmosphere of people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan and posing a major threat to the safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan.”
The statement added: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the Chinese Embassy and consulates in Japan, reminds Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future.”
Tatashi broke with a long-standing precedent on November 7 when she suggested in parliament that Japan might provide military support to Taiwan under certain “worst-case scenarios,” such as a Chinese attack on the self-governed island.
Tatashi said: “If warships are used and a naval blockade involves the use of force, I believe this would constitute a situation that poses a real threat to Japan’s existence,” indicating this could justify mobilizing Japan’s Self-Defense Forces under the right of collective defense.
Beijing has repeatedly demanded that Tatashi withdraw her remarks — a move she has refused, though she softened her tone later in the week, saying she did not intend to contradict past governments’ longstanding ambiguity about how Tokyo would respond to any Chinese action against Taiwan.
This was not enough to calm China, which considers Taiwan “the core of its core interests” and has vowed to bring the island of 23 million people under its control, by force if necessary.
Late Thursday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned Japan’s ambassador to China, Kenji Kanasugi, “under instructions” from the Chinese government to deliver “serious diplomatic démarches” regarding Tatashi’s “wrong remarks,” according to the Chinese newspaper Global Times.
The newspaper described the move as “an extremely unusual diplomatic measure,” saying the severity of the warning was unprecedented.
“Given Chinese diplomatic norms, the phrase ‘summoned under instructions’ is extremely rare, and its seriousness and authority are extraordinary. This was not routine communication but a high-level, resolute warning. Tokyo must understand this clearly, reconsider, correct its mistakes, and retract the harmful statements,” Global Times said in an editorial.
China’s warning to its citizens to avoid Japan — a step that could significantly impact tourism — was the first concrete action taken to punish Tokyo for Tatashi’s comments.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, Chinese visitors make up about a quarter of all foreign tourists, with approximately 7.5 million visitors from China in the first nine months of this year.
Historically, China has used economic leverage against Japan. In 2010, it was believed China halted rare-earth exports to Japan during a dispute over the Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan but claimed by China.
Later on Friday, China’s Ministry of Defense warned Japan against any potential military intervention regarding Taiwan.
Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said: “If the Japanese side fails to learn from history and decides to take risks, or even use force to intervene in the Taiwan issue, it will only suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the iron-willed People’s Liberation Army and will pay a heavy price.”
The Communist Party’s official People’s Daily stated in an editorial Friday that Tatashi’s remarks were the first time in eighty years that a Japanese leader issued a “military threat against China.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also warned Thursday that any Japanese attempt at military intervention in the Taiwan Strait “would be an act of aggression and would be met with a strong response from China.”
Tokyo, which shifted its official diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1972 but maintains strong informal ties with Taiwan, has been increasingly outspoken about its concerns regarding the self-governed island.
China’s growing military drills and operations near Taiwan have alarmed Tokyo, prompting senior government and ruling party officials to say that a Taiwan emergency would also be a Japan emergency. This concern over China is a key driver of Japan’s efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities.
Despite tensions, both Tokyo and Beijing have sought to maintain stability in their strained relationship. During Tatashi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, the two sides pledged to promote a “mutually beneficial relationship based on shared strategic interests.”
Experts say that although Tatashi’s unprecedented comments on Taiwan may not signal a clear shift in Japan’s official policy toward Taipei, his remarks — whether or not they reflect Tokyo’s formal stance — can be seen as part of a broader and gradual evolution in Japan’s relationship with Taiwan and its growing concerns about China’s ambitions toward the democratic island.
