China urges Japan to correct Takaichi's Taiwan remarks

Beijing renews its demand

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing on Friday that the Japanese authorities are "still going in circles, evading and dodging the issue" over Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's remarks on Taiwan.

Guo set out Beijing's conditions at the same briefing. Japan should correct its "erroneous words and deeds" on Taiwan, adopt a correct attitude on historical issues and form "an objective and rational perception of China", he said.

The remark at the centre of the row dates from 7 November 2025, when Takaichi told the lower house budget committee that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

Takaichi told reporters at her office in Tokyo on Friday that Japan will "promote dialogue to protect our national interests and build a constructive and stable relationship", Kyodo News reported. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru said the government's position on Taiwan is unchanged from the 1972 Japan-China communique.

NHK reported that the two governments are still not talking, while Japanese business groups are trying to keep lower-level channels open.

The bill for the standoff

China's response went beyond travel advice. It tightened controls on exports of military-civilian dual-use goods, including rare earths, and advised Chinese citizens not to travel to Japan, Jiji Press reported. Japan's government plans to work with private companies to soften the impact by using state stockpiles and diversifying procurement sources.

The Japan National Tourism Organization says Chinese visitors to Japan in January to September were half the level of the same nine months a year earlier. Goldwin, the outdoor clothing maker, said at a recent earnings briefing that sales to Chinese visitors fell by 20 to 30 percent. Forty Japanese companies have been banned in principle from shipping dual-use goods out of China, Jiji Press reported. Trade minister Akazawa Ryosei acknowledged concerns in the business community about stable rare earth supplies, according to the same report. The Tokyo-Beijing dialogue on export controls has been suspended since September last year.

Business groups try to keep a channel open

Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, has postponed a delegation to China that was scheduled for mid-November, Jiji Press reported. The Kansai Economic Federation is planning a mission to China at the end of the year. "It's necessary to approach from various angles, not just political and diplomatic ones," said Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Keidanren chief Yoshinobu Tsutsui told reporters on Friday that the group must promote "multilayered communication".

In September, former foreign minister Iwaya Takeshi visited China as chair of a friendship organisation and met separately with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng, NHK reported.

NHK reported signs that Beijing is open to dialogue with Japanese businesses and with lawmakers who do not belong to the Takaichi administration.

China dominates global rare earth supply. After a 2010 collision between Japan Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese fishing boat near the Senkaku Islands, Japan cut the share of its rare earth imports from China to about 60 percent from around 90 percent, Jiji Press reported. An official at a major Japanese machinery maker said the country "still relies on China for refining and processing raw materials".

What happens next

The APEC summit is due to be held in Shenzhen later this month. Wang Guangtao, an associate professor at Fudan University's Center for Japanese Studies, told the Global Times he is pessimistic about China-Japan interactions on its sidelines.