Japan rebukes Chinese diplomat as Taiwan furore escalates

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By John Geddie and Laurie Chen

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) -Japan criticised a Chinese diplomat on Monday for “extremely inappropriate” remarks seemingly directed at Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, after she suggested that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked neighbouring Taiwan.

Beijing defended the “personal post” made by the envoy in an escalating war of words with Japan’s new hardline leader that threatens to strain relations between the historic rivals after a period of relative calm.

The U.S. ambassador to Tokyo also weighed in, saying China’s Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, had threatened Takaichi. In a post on X on Saturday, Xue shared a news article about Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan and commented “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off”. The post was later deleted.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that while the intent of the post was not entirely clear, Xue had made “multiple inappropriate statements” and that Tokyo has repeatedly asked Beijing to take appropriate action.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference on Monday that Xue’s post was a response to Takaichi’s “wrongful and dangerous” remarks on Taiwan, urging Tokyo to “take a hard look at its historical responsibilities”.

Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the presidential office in Taiwan, the democratically-ruled island claimed by China, said Taiwan’s government “takes seriously the threatening remarks made by Chinese officials toward Japan”.

“Such behaviour clearly exceeds diplomatic etiquette,” Kuo said in a statement.

‘THREATENING JAPAN’S SURVIVAL’

Takaichi told the Japanese parliament on Friday that an attack on Taiwan – which lies just over 100 km (60 miles) from Japanese territory – could be deemed “a situation threatening Japan’s survival”, a legal term introduced in 2015 that allows Japan’s premiers to deploy the country’s Self-Defense Forces.

Until now, Japanese prime ministers have avoided mentioning Taiwan when publicly discussing scenarios that could trigger a military response.   

The diplomatic spat comes less than a month after Takaichi took office and less than two weeks after she angered Beijing by posting a picture of a meeting with a Taiwanese representative at a regional summit in Seoul earlier this month. 

She also met Chinese President Xi Jinping there, with both leaders agreeing to pursue constructive and stable ties.

But one of her first acts as prime minister was to accelerate a defence buildup aimed at deterring Beijing’s military ambitions in East Asia.

On Monday, Takaichi said her remarks were “hypothetical” and that she would refrain from making similar comments in parliament again.   

“The mask slips – again,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass said in a post on X, adding that Xue’s comment threatened Takaichi and the Japanese people.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Xi has told him he will not invade Taiwan while the Republican president is in office. Trump has yet to approve any new U.S. arms sales to Taipei.

(Reporting by John Geddie, Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Laurie Chen and Antoni Slodkowski in BeijingEditing by Neil Fullick, Saad Sayeed and Frances Kerry)