Overview
- The FAA fully ended temporary reductions at major U.S. airports on Nov. 17 after the partial federal shutdown was lifted.
- Flight cuts had been triggered by air-traffic controller absences and other operational strains during the prolonged shutdown.
- In Beijing on Nov. 18, bureau-level talks between Japan’s Kanai Masaaki and China’s Liu Jinsong ended without narrowing the dispute over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Diet remarks on a Taiwan contingency.
- China reiterated its demand that Tokyo retract the remarks, and Japan declined, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Kihara stating the answer did not alter existing government policy.
- Immediate fallout included a postponed Japan–China expert meeting and a safety advisory from Japan’s embassy in China, while opposition leader Yuichiro Tamaki urged leaders to re‑confirm the 2018 maritime and air contact mechanism to reduce risks.