Chinese airlines offer refunds for Japan travel, Tokyo warns against travel to China as tensions run high
Japan has warned its citizens in China to increase security measures and avoid crowded areas amid deepening tensions between the two world’s largest economies Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi sparked the most serious political conflict in years when he told Japanese lawmakers this month that China’s attack on Taiwan threatened Japan’s survival.
The conflict could deal a blow to Japan’s economy, as Beijing has urged its citizens not to travel there. The Chinese make up the largest number of tourists in Japan, accounting for nearly a quarter, official figures show. Japan’s tourism-related stocks hit the headlines.
More than 10 airlines, such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, have offered refunds on Chengdu-bound routes up to a minimum amount, state media said.
Japan’s top official met with his counterpart in Beijing on Tuesday to try and bridge the gap, but no success was forthcoming.
Pm more blunt than the previous ones
Speaking to the Parliamentary Committee on November 7 as if it could provoke a Japanese military response, Takaichi used the example of a Chinese military blockade or other action against Taiwan.
“If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it would, by all means, be a survival-threatening situation,” he said.
His comments were stronger than those before him. Prime Ministers Prime Ministers have expressed concern about China’s threat to Taiwan but have not said how Japan will respond.
Beijing claims to rule democratic Taiwan as its own and has not specified how to exercise control over the island. Taiwan’s government denies Beijing’s claims.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it had pressured Takaichi to explain his words.
But a spokesman for the Japanese government’s central government, Munoru Kihara, suggested Pinyo did not have a good idea to do so. The comments “did not change the government’s current position,” he told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that the government’s problems with Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
Chinese plosomay in Japan responded to Takaichi’s comments by posting threatening comments aimed at him on social media. That drew a strong rebuke from Tokyo, though it failed to fuel vitriolic opinion against him in China’s state media.
Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands are just a few kilometers, at their closest point, from the city of Xiamen in Mainland China. That made some residents fear a possible military attack.
Takaichi called the Japanese demons “militarist,” China’s official Xinhua news agency said in the latest attack on Tuesday.
Due to the media ban in China, the Japanese embassy there reminded citizens on Monday to respect local customs and maintain contact with the Chinese people. It advised residents to be aware of their surroundings when they are outside, telling them not to walk alone and urging more caution when accompanying children.
“If you see a person or a group that looks a little suspicious, don’t approach them at all,” said the ambassador without saying anything.
Trade concerns, access to Chinese minerals
In another fallout from the political row, film distributors also halted the screening of at least two Japanese films in China – a last step The CCTV agency praised on Monday as a measure to show domestic sentiment.
A review of some Japanese films originally set to be released in the coming weeks, such as animated ones Crayon Shin-chan the movie: Super Hot! Scorching Kasukaba Abadani and a manga-turned-movie Cells at work! will not start in Mainland China as planned, he added, subject to factory checks.
Outside of tourism, Japan relies heavily on China for critical minerals used in things from electronics to cars.
“If we rely too much on a country that is turning to economic coercion. At the moment something is not happy,” Japan’s Tourism Minister, “Tourism Minister,” Japan’s Economy Minister, Kimi Onoda, told a news conference on Tuesday.
“We need to realize that it is dangerous to depend economically on another place that puts them at such risk,” he added, responding to a question about China’s calls for its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan.
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Japan’s Minister of Tourism Ryosei Akazawa said that there have been no specific changes yet in China’s exports to the world of rare and other goods.
The heads of the three business federations met with Takaichi late on Monday and urged negotiations to resolve political differences.
Taiwan is located more than 110 kilometers from the Japanese mainland and the surrounding waters provide an important sea route for Tokyo’s trade.
Japan also maintains America’s largest overseas military base.
On Sunday, China Coast Guard vessels patrolled the waters surrounding a group of East China Sea Islands controlled by Japan but under fire from China. The Japanese guard said that the Chinese ships were being towed.
The United States does not view the islands — known as the Senkaku in Tokyo and the Diaoyu in Beijing — as a surprise of Japan. Since 2014, it means that it will be enforced by the Japan-US Security Treaty to protect them if they are attacked.
“If there is any doubt, the United States is fully committed to the defense of Japan, including the Senkaku Islands,” said the American ambassador, and told X. “
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference on Tuesday that the remarks were a “political show with ulterior motives.”
