Overview
- Japan lodged a formal complaint with Beijing over Consul General Xue Jian’s X post referencing “cut off that dirty neck,” calling the wording extremely inappropriate and demanding deletion.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Xue has made multiple inappropriate statements and that Tokyo has repeatedly urged China to take appropriate action.
- The post was removed, the U.S. ambassador to Japan George Glass shared it and labeled it a threat, and Japan asked whether further steps such as expulsion were under consideration.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reaffirmed that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a survival-threatening situation under Japan’s 2015 collective self-defense framework, while noting any decision would follow a comprehensive assessment and saying she would avoid repeating such hypotheticals in parliament.
- China’s foreign ministry framed Xue’s remarks as a response to Takaichi’s wrongful and dangerous comments on Taiwan, and the Osaka consulate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.