Overview
- China’s Foreign Ministry used social media on Nov. 14 to urge citizens to refrain from visiting Japan in response to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Diet remarks about a Taiwan contingency.
- Japan rejected Beijing’s demand to withdraw the prime minister’s answer, with government sources saying it cannot comply.
- Tokyo is pursuing leader-level dialogue to ease tensions, but senior officials describe the moment as a turning point and say de-escalation is proving difficult.
- Japanese officials caution that economic fallout could widen, with unconfirmed reporting raising concern about potential rare-earth export restrictions by China.
- Takaichi said her remarks outlined a worst-case scenario and did not change Japan’s stance on collective self-defense, as officials brace for a tourism hit given that Chinese travelers are the largest cohort of visitors to Japan.