ANKARA 

Amid a row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on Taiwan, China has issued a fresh travel advisory, warning its citizens not to visit Japan due to security concerns, Japanese media reported on Thursday.

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo issued a second alert on Wednesday night, following the first on November 14, urging Chinese citizens already in Japan to increase their safety awareness and protect themselves, according to Kyodo News.

The embassy stated that the number of requests for assistance made by Chinese citizens regarding discrimination against them in Japan has "increased significantly, especially in November."

Last Friday, Tokyo released data to counter China's earlier travel advisory, revealing seven murders and 21 robberies involving Chinese nationals, compared to 14 murders, 18 robberies, and three arson cases targeting Chinese citizens during the same period last year.

However, on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "Public security in Japan is... not quite sound at the moment, and criminal cases targeting Chinese nationals have happened frequently."

Mao urged the Tokyo government to "take China's concerns seriously and take concrete actions to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals and institutions in Japan."

Tensions between the two countries rose earlier this month after Takaichi said any Chinese attack on Taiwan could legally amount to a “survival-threatening situation,” potentially allowing Japan to “exercise the right of collective self-defense.”

China sharply criticized Takaichi's remarks, and hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists reportedly canceled trips to Japan. Tokyo said Beijing imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports and also postponed a trilateral culture ministers’ meeting with Japan and South Korea—a move that Tokyo criticized.