China, Japan and the Taiwan flashpoint

The diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo has exposed enduring structural fault lines in their relationship and the East Asian security order.

- B.R. DEEPAK

PM Sanae Takaichi

On November 7, 2025, while responding to a question about a statement she had made in 2024, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Lower House Budget Committee that "If it involves the use of force by China against Taiwan, it could be considered a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

Her remarks implied that Tokyo might respond militarily under the post-2015 collective self-defence framework.

The statement drew strong criticism from Beijing, and the next day, China's Consul-General in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted on X: "If you go sticking that filthy neck where it doesn't belong, it's gonna get sliced right off. You ready for that?"

Japan's Foreign Ministry and the Japanese Embassy in China lodged a protest with Beijing on November 9 and demanded the immediate removal of the post, but China reacted sharply. On November 13, 2025, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, "under instruction," summoned Japanese Ambassador to China, Kenji Kanasugi to issue stern representations regarding Takaichi's "erroneous remarks." Seeking to calm tensions, Tokyo sent Masaaki Kanai, Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, to Beijing for talks with Liu Jinsong, his counterpart in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.