Japan protests China’s travel warning after remarks on Taiwan | World News
China has repeatedly urged its citizens to take precautions when travelling in Japan during the past year. (File Photo)
Japan has objected to China’s new advice telling Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday. The warning followed comments Japan’s new prime miner, Sanae Takaichi, about Taiwan.
According to AP, the Japanese government lodged a formal protest. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara urged Beijing to take “appropriate measures,” Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported.
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China issued its advisory on Friday, telling its citizens not to visit Japan in the near future. It referred to previous incidents involving Chinese nationals in Japan and accused Takaichi of making “erroneous remarks” about Taiwan that damaged the atmosphere for exchanges between the two countries.
Kihara told reporters that differences between the governments made “multilayered communication” even more important, Kyodo said.
China has repeatedly urged its citizens to take precautions when travelling in Japan during the past year. But AP reported that the latest advice appeared stronger, as seen in notices published the Chinese embassy in Tokyo.
Japan is a major destination for Chinese tours, providing important economic support to the travel sector. Following China’s announcement, several Chinese airlines offered penalty-free refunds for tickets to Japan.
The dispute highlights tensions between the two countries as Takaichi begins her term. She supports strengthening Japan’s military in response to China’s activities in the region.
Takaichi, who took office last month, told parliament that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be “an exential threat” to Japan and might require Japan’s military to use force. China strongly objected, including through a social media comment its consul general in Osaka, who wrote that China had “no choice but to cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us.” The post was later removed, AP reported.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has carried out military drills near the island in recent years.
Neither Japan nor the United States has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but the US is the island’s main supplier of defence equipment and opposes any use of force. Japan is a US ally and hosts several American military bases, including a major naval base south of Tokyo.
