China and Japan escalating dispute over Taiwan: what you need to know

China has urged its citizens not to travel to Japan and summoned the country’s ambassador in Beijing over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan.

China and Japan have been locked in an escalating war of words this week, sparked by Takaichi’s suggestion that Japan could respond with its own self-defense force if China attacked Taiwan.

The Foreign Ministries of both countries have lodged serious protests against each other. A Chinese diplomat also made a comment that some interpreted as a threat to behead Takaichi.

The dispute touches on historical animosity between China and Japan, as well as long-standing “strategic ambiguity” over the sovereignty of autonomous Taiwan.

Here’s what you need to know about it:

The current tensions were sparked at a parliamentary meeting in Japan last Friday, when an opposition lawmaker asked Takaichi what circumstances surrounding Taiwan would count as a situation that threatens Japan’s survival.

“If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, could constitute a survival-threatening situation,” Takaichi responded.

A “survival-threatening situation” is a legal term under Japan’s 2015 security law, which refers to when an armed attack against its allies poses an existential threat to Japan. In such a situation, Japan’s self-defense forces can be activated to respond to the threat.

Takaichi’s comments drew immediate ire from Beijing, with China’s Foreign Ministry describing them as “atrocious.”

Last Saturday, Xue Jian, China’s consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka, reshared a news article about Takaichi’s parliamentary comments on

While the intent of Xue’s comments “may not be clear,” they were “highly inappropriate,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters on Monday.

Tokyo lodged protests with China over Xue’s comments, while Beijing lodged its protests with Japan over Takaichi’s.

Xue’s position has since been eliminated, but the dust from the barbed exchanges has yet to settle.

On Tuesday, Takaichi refused to retract his remarks, which he defended as “consistent with the government’s traditional position.” However, he noted that he would be careful commenting on specific scenarios from now on.

Then on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry posted in Japanese and English on its

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong also summoned the Japanese ambassador to China that same day to express his discontent.

Sun called Takaichi’s comments “extremely wrong and dangerous” and demanded that Japan withdraw them, according to state media Xinhua. He also warned that “otherwise, all consequences will be borne by Japan.”

Japan’s ambassador explained that his position on Taiwan “has not changed” and refuted Beijing’s comments, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters on Friday.

“The Japanese government’s consistent position is that we hope for a peaceful resolution of the issues surrounding Taiwan through dialogue,” he said during the daily news conference.

Kihara also added that Japan “strongly urges China to take appropriate measures” over Xue’s comment on social media.

Then on Friday night, the Chinese embassy in Japan released a statement urging citizens to “avoid traveling to Japan in the near future” over what it called “blatantly provocative comments about Taiwan.”

There is long-standing animosity between the two countries, dating back to a series of armed conflicts in the 19th century and Japan’s brutal military campaign in China during World War II.

This was referenced in a statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday when it said that “if Japan fails to draw lessons from history and dares to take reckless risks, including resorting to military intervention in the Taiwan Strait situation, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses and pay a bitter price in the face of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s iron wall.”

Since then, historical grievances have remained sore points in bilateral relations. But the recent rise of Takaichi, a protégé of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,, suggests there may be more tensions ahead.

The conservative leader is seeking closer ties with the United States and has promised to increase Japan’s defense spending, causing some alarm in Beijing.

Takaichi is also notoriously hawkish on China and a long-time supporter of Taiwan.

He had previously said that a blockade of the island could threaten Japan and that Japan could mobilize its troops to stop a Chinese invasion.

China is especially touchy about Taiwan, the autonomous island that Beijing claims as part of its territory. China has not ruled out using force to take Taiwan, a stance that has unsettled Taipei and its allies in the region.

Earlier this month, Beijing accused Takaichi of violating the one-China principle after she posted photos of her meeting a senior Taiwanese official on the sidelines of the Apec summit in South Korea.

The Japanese prime minister’s recent comments mark a departure from the equivocal position the country has traditionally taken on Taiwan’s status.

This is in line with the United States’ long-held policy of “strategic ambiguity”: remaining vague about what it would do to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

For decades, this ambiguity has kept China uncertain – a form of deterrence – while leaving room for economic ties to flourish.

The Japanese government’s official position is that it hopes the Taiwan question can be resolved peacefully through dialogue, and Japanese officials have typically avoided mentioning Taiwan in public discussions about security.

On the occasions when they have done so, they have received harsh rebukes from Beijing.

In 2021, when then-Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said Japan would have to defend Taiwan alongside the United States in the event of an invasion, Beijing condemned his comments and told Japan to “correct its mistakes.”

In this latest outburst, China’s Foreign Ministry said Takaichi’s comments were “serious interference in China’s internal affairs.”

“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a news conference on Monday, adding that China will not “tolerate any foreign interference” in the matter.

“What signal is the Japanese leader trying to send to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces?” he added. “Is Japan prepared to challenge China’s core interests and stop its reunification?”