Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. AFP/Yonhap News. 

Sino-Japanese relations have rapidly turned frosty after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated in the Diet that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a "situation threatening the survival of the nation," allowing for the exercise of collective self-defense.

While Japan emphasizes that Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks were hypothetical and that there is no change to the existing government stance, China, viewing Takaichi's comments as interference in its internal affairs, has gone beyond strong criticism and issued a "call for Japanese citizens to refrain from visiting China."

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 16th that the background to China's overwhelmingly hardline stance may be the judgment that Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks damaged the prestige of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The newspaper analyzed that after President Xi and Prime Minister Takaichi met in Gyeongju on the 31st of last month, China took conciliatory actions toward Japan.

Indeed, China announced on the 3rd of this month that it would extend visa-free measures for South Korea, Japan, and others until the end of next year, and on the 5th, it resumed imports of Japanese seafood, which had been banned since the discharge of contaminated water (termed "treated water" by the Japanese government) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, after more than two years.

However, it is reported that Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks in the Diet on the 7th, hinting at the possibility of "military intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency" as the first serving Japanese prime minister to do so, tarnished President Xi's image.

Yomiuri noted that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi on the 14th "under instruction," citing a Chinese government official who stated that the instruction came from the highest leadership of the Communist Party.

Furthermore, Yomiuri explained that China may have reacted more strongly because this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of Japanese occupation of Taiwan and the victory in the Sino-Japanese War. A sensitive statement regarding Taiwan from the Japanese Prime Minister could have exacerbated the reaction.

Although China is pressuring Prime Minister Takaichi to retract her remarks, Japanese media analyzes that the possibility of her doing so is almost nil, as it would lead to a loss of support from conservatives and could prompt China to make even stronger demands.

For now, the Japanese government is seeking avenues for dialogue to prevent further escalation of the conflict. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the government's spokesperson, stated the previous day, "Given the differences in our positions, multilayered communication between the two countries is important."

In relation to this, Yomiuri reported that the Japanese government is considering sending Keiichi Ichikawa, Secretary-General of the National Security Council, to China.

Furthermore, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) predicts that Japan will likely seek a meeting between Prime Minister Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the occasion of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa on the 22nd.

However, it is difficult to predict whether dialogue between Japan and China will proceed smoothly, as the Takaichi administration lacks influential figures to communicate with China, and the Komeito party, which has strived to improve relations with China, has withdrawn from the coalition government.

Some within the Japanese government speculate that this conflict, intertwined with the Taiwan issue which China holds in high regard, could potentially last for several years in the worst-case scenario, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

The newspaper predicted that just as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the measure of discouraging travel to Japan, other government agencies might also announce policies to reduce exchanges with Japan, based on past instances where China clashed with other countries.

"If Japan and China take more severe measures, it could lead to a recurrence of the deterioration of relations surrounding the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu Islands in China) in 2012, which was described as the worst since the normalization of diplomatic relations," it added.

At that time, China experienced fierce anti-Japanese protests and boycotts of Japanese products following Japan's declaration of nationalizing the Senkaku Islands.

Nikkei stated that the confrontation between Japan and China could serve as a litmus test for the effectiveness of "Takaichi diplomacy," and expressed concern about the stagnation of economic exchanges, including a decrease in Chinese tourists visiting Japan.

Yonhap News