Overview
- Director-level talks in Beijing on Nov. 18 ended without progress after China pressed for a retraction of Prime Minister Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks and Japan refused, saying they did not alter its stance.
- Tokyo filed a formal complaint on Nov. 19 over China’s uncoordinated release of post-meeting images and coverage of the bureau chiefs’ encounter.
- Chinese outlets reported that a government call to refrain from visiting Japan prompted about 500,000 canceled airline bookings, a figure not independently confirmed in these reports.
- Organizers have begun postponing Japan–China business events and exchanges, indicating spillover effects into corporate travel and people-to-people links.
- Keidanren chair Yoshinobu Tsutsui warned of widening impacts on ties and urged sustained communication, as ruling party voices in Tokyo cautioned that the confrontation could drag on.