Overview
- At bureau-level talks in Beijing on Nov. 18, Japan’s Kanai Masaaki and China’s Liu Jinsong ended discussions without narrowing differences.
- China renewed its demand that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her Diet statement on a Taiwan contingency qualifying as a survival‑threatening crisis, and Japan refused, saying it did not change its existing stance.
- The Japanese Embassy in China issued safety advisories to nationals, and Education Minister Yohei Matsumoto said students and schools would receive guidance on precautions.
- Chinese media reported roughly 490,000–500,000 cancellations of Japan‑bound flight bookings, and organizers began postponing exchanges and events.
- Opposition leader Yuichiro Tamaki urged reconfirmation of the 2018 sea‑air contact mechanism to avoid accidental clashes, while the government said diplomatic communication will continue with an uncertain outlook.