China urges citizens to avoid traveling to Japan amid rising tensions

ISTANBUL

China on Friday urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan amid rising tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.

China's Foreign Ministry, as well as its embassy and consulates in Japan, advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future, citing "multiple criminal offenses and incidents of attacks against Chinese nationals in Japan this year."

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan have "severely undermined the atmosphere for China-Japan personnel exchanges," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs, as reported by the state-run Global Times.

Chinese nationals who are already in Japan are also advised to "closely monitor the local public security situation, enhance safety awareness, and strengthen self-protection."

Last week, Takaichi said any Chinese military action against Taiwan, including a naval blockade, could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation,” enabling Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

Takaichi, Japan’s first female premier, later told lawmakers she had spoken “under the assumption of a worst-case scenario” and denied any intention to retract her remarks.

Earlier on Friday, China summoned Japan's ambassador in Beijing in response to Takaichi's comments.

However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated that Tokyo remains committed to the 1972 joint communique, in which Japan recognized China and stated that it "fully understands and respects" Beijing's position that Taiwan is an "inalienable part" of its territory.

Tokyo has yet to respond to Beijing's latest decision.