Escalating row with China hits shares in Japanese tourism and retail firms

Shares in Japanese tourism and retail companies have fallen sharply after China warned its citizens not to travel to Japan, while a senior Japanese diplomat was due to travel to Beijing amid an escalating row over comments about Taiwan made by Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

- Justin McCurry

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated dramatically in the past week after Takaichi, a conservative who has hawkish views on China, suggested that Japanese self-defence forces could intervene if a Chinese attempt to invade Taiwan represented a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan.

The comments - a reflection of the views on the right of Takaichi's Liberal Democratic party - triggered a furious response from Beijing, including calls for Chinese citizens to boycott Japan as a tourist destination and a coastguard sail-by through the disputed Senkaku islands.