ISTANBUL

Tokyo on Monday said that China's warning against visiting Japan is "contradictory," as the country moves to calm bilateral tensions over Taiwan by sending a diplomat for talks with Beijing.

Government spokesman Minoru Kihara told a news conference that such recommendations by China appear to "discourage personal exchanges and are completely contradictory to a recent agreement" between the nations' leaders on a "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship" as well as "constructive and stable ties," the Kyodo news agency reported.

Separately, a senior Japanese diplomat, seeking to ease heightened tensions following new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments on Taiwan, is visiting China for talks expected on Tuesday.

Masaaki Kanai, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will stress that Takaichi has not altered Japan's stance as stated in a 1972 joint communique which recognized the People's Republic of China as the country’s sole legitimate government, the outlet reported, citing government sources close to the matter.

Amid China’s call for its citizens to avoid travel to Japan, newly released data showed that the world's fourth-largest economy shrank 0.4% in the third quarter in inflation-adjusted real terms, an annualized decline of 1.8%, according to Nikkei Asia.

According to the South China Morning Post, more than 6.7 million Chinese visited Japan in the first eight months of 2025.

No ‘compromise or concession to any external influence,’ says Beijing

The Chinese Embassy in Japan also said Monday that Beijing is "willing to make every effort to strive for the peaceful reunification of both sides of the Taiwan Straits" but will "never promise to renounce the use of force, nor leave any room for any form of 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities."

"We will not make any compromise or concession to any external interference, and will retain the option to take all necessary measures," the embassy said, as cited by the state-run Global Times.

"If Japan dares to interfere in China's reunification cause, or dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Straits situation under the pretext of a 'survival-threatening situation,' it would be an act of aggression and definitely meet a firm response from China," it added.

The development comes after Takaichi earlier this month said that 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.

On Friday, China also called on its nationals to avoid visiting Japan following Takaichi's remarks amid rising tensions between the two countries, which Tokyo lodged a protest against on Saturday.

Separately, on Sunday, the China Coast Guard carried out a patrol in the territorial waters of the disputed Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. China also claims sovereignty over these islands, referring to them as the Diaoyu Islands.

Tokyo's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara called the move "a violation of international law."

"We have lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels," he said.