A senior Japanese diplomat will head to China on Monday, Japanese media reported, as Tokyo tries to calm an escalating diplomatic spat over Taiwan that is straining relations between the East Asian neighbours.
The row erupted after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Japanese lawmakers that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan's survival and potentially trigger a military response, something officials had long avoided airing in public for fear of provoking Beijing, which claims the democratically-governed island.
Masaaki Kanai, the director general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asia and Oceania bureau, will meet his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, Japanese media reported. Kanai is expected to explain that Takaichi's comment does not signal a shift in Japanese security policy and to urge China to refrain from actions that would damage ties, media said.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was not immediately able to confirm whether Kanai was travelling to China.
Beijing on Friday warned Japan it would face a "crushing" military defeat if it uses force to intervene over Taiwan and summoned Japan's ambassador to lodge a "strong protest". It also advised Chinese citizens against visiting Japan, raising concern that tourism-related companies in Japan will see a downturn in business.
Speaking to reporters in New Taipei on Monday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said China was carrying out a "multifaceted attack" on Japan, severely impacting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
"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.
"China should return to a rules-based international order; only then will it be helpful for the region's development. We ask China to think twice."
Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims.
Chinese state-linked media has continued to target the Japanese premier.
"Takaichi's dangerous remarks, which have touched the nerves of all parties, were not only strategic recklessness, but also deliberate provocation," the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, said in a Monday editorial.
A downturn in Chinese visitor numbers similar to the 25% fall Japan experienced during an earlier diplomatic row in 2012 could result in a significant economic loss, according to Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute.
"A drop in visitor numbers on this scale would have a dampening effect exceeding half of Japan’s annual growth," he said.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as ...
A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country&...
The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and ...
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key I...
The U.S. Department of Defense has released a video of a submarine strike on an Iranian warship off the southern Sri Lankan coast. At least 80 peop...
A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country’s deputy foreign minister said. Meanwhile, Iran postponed the funeral of its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to state media.
The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
The U.S. Department of Defense has released a video of a submarine strike on an Iranian warship off the southern Sri Lankan coast. At least 80 people died in the U.S. attack on the vessel, Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
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