It would be disappointing if instead of “muddling through,” the Japanese government as led by its new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, submitted to China’s malicious demands and formally retracted her very reasonable statement about Taiwan (The Japan Times, November 15, 2025).
“Recently, Japanese leaders have made blatantly provocative remarks regarding Taiwan, severely damaging the atmosphere for people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan and posing significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Friday.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Japan solemnly remind Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future,” it added.
Later Saturday, three of China’s largest airlines—Air China, China Southern and China Eastern—all posted statements to their websites offering full refunds or changes for flights to Japan from Saturday through Dec. 31.
The Chinese government’s warning to its citizens not to visit Japan—a move that could have a significant impact on tourism—was the first concrete move to punish Tokyo over Takaichi’s remarks….
The Chinese military has ramped-up training and drills near the island, unnerving Tokyo and prompting senior government and ruling party officials to say that an emergency over Taiwan would also represent an emergency for Japan. Those fears are widely seen as a driving factor behind Japan’s push to beef up its defense capabilities.
All Prime Minister Takaichi had said was that in the event of a PRC invasion of Taiwan, Japan would likely provide military support. “If battleships are used and a naval blockade involves the use of force, I believe that would, by any measure, constitute a ‘survival-threatening situation’ for Japan,” justifying mobilization of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
Beijing wants Takaichi to “withdraw” her remarks, which would be a diplomatic or something-atic win for the Chinese Communist Party but would not by itself change what Japan would be likely to do in the event of an attack on Taiwan. It would, though, show the CCP that the new Japanese government is willing to submit to arbitrary intimidation. A bad precedent.
As it always does, the Party is projecting, pretending that others are guilty of its own egregious conduct. Expressing a willingness to defend oneself and one’s allies from unprovoked attack is not threatening or provocative (except to persons and totalitarian states willing to be provoked by anything). But the CCP’s nonstop threats and provocations of Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and the other countries of earth are indeed threatening and provocative.
Late Thursday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong “summoned, upon instruction,” Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi, “making serious démarches” over Takaichi’s “erroneous remarks,” China’s state-run Global Times newspaper said….
“Looking back at Chinese diplomacy, the term ‘summoned upon instruction’ is extremely rare, and its seriousness and authority are extraordinary,” the Global Times wrote in an editorial. “This was not a routine communication, but a high-level and stern warning. Tokyo must have a clear understanding of this and must not attempt to just muddle through. It should immediately reflect, correct its mistakes, and retract the malicious remarks.”
Don’t do it, Japan. Don’t give the bully what he wants. Just muddle through.
