China has demanded that Japan withdraw Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comment that Tokyo could respond with military action if China attacks Taiwan — a statement Beijing says has “eroded the foundation” of bilateral relations.Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning warned that Chinese countermeasures already affecting Japan’s tourism sector will escalate unless Tokyo “retracts the erroneous remarks” and “corrects the wrongdoing.”Tourism and trade fallout begins
The diplomatic row is already hitting Japanese tourism and exports. China has advised its citizens against travelling to Japan and at least two major state-owned travel agencies have cancelled months-old group bookings, according to Bloomberg.
Marketing for Japan tours has halted, while Tokyo-based East Japan International Travel Service reported losing 80% of its bookings for the rest of the year. The impact is expected to spread to food exports as well, after Beijing informed Tokyo it would suspend all imports of Japanese seafood.Beijing leans on wartime narrativesThe tensions come despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent calls for a “mutually beneficial” Japan–China relationship. Chinese state media, however, has amplified wartime messaging, with Xinhua heavily promoting accounts of Japan’s WWII aggression during the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan — commemorated with a military parade attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.China says Japan unfit for UN security council seatAt the same briefing, Mao Ning cited Japan’s wartime history to argue that Japan is unqualified for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.“Japan waged a war of aggression during the Second World War… and still has not fully repented for its war crimes,” she said, adding that a country with such a record is “in no position” to take on responsibilities for maintaining global peace and security.
