Japan calls on its citizens in China to exercise caution in the context of high tensions between the two countries

China’s aims towards Taiwan are reigniting tensions between Japan and the Xi Jinping regime.

On Tuesday, November 18, Japan asked its citizens in China to be careful, in the context of tensions between the two countries following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statements regarding Taiwan, an island claimed by Beijing.“When traveling, be aware of your surroundings, especially the presence of suspicious people. Try as much as possible to travel in groups”warned a press release published Monday on the website of the Japanese embassy in Beijing.

Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said on Tuesday that the recommendation had been made “based on a comprehensive assessment of the political situation, including the security situation in the country or region concerned, as well as social conditions”.

The source of this crisis was comments by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who stated on November 7 that an armed attack on Taiwan could justify sending Japanese troops to defend the island, based on “collective self-defense” regulated by Japanese law adopted in 2015.

These statements were interpreted as an indication that an attack on Taiwan, an island over which Beijing claims sovereignty, could justify military support from Tokyo to Taipei. Taiwan is only about a hundred kilometers from the nearest Japanese island. The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo assessed the statement “openly provocative towards Taiwan, seriously damaging the climate of exchange between peoples”. And Beijing is asking Chinese citizens to do just that “Avoid traveling to Japan in the near future“, causing a fall in Japanese shares in stock markets related to tourism and distribution on Monday.