Japan sends envoy to China after Beijing protests Takaichi’s Taiwan comments

Japan is sending a senior Foreign Ministry official to China on Monday in an effort to stabilise relations after Beijing escalated its response to recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, NHK reported. The envoy, Masaaki Kanai, will aim to ease tensions after China issued a travel advisory for Japan and warned Chinese students about safety risks there.

Strains flared after Takaichi said that Japanese law could deem a Taiwan conflict a “survival-threatening situation,” a designation that would allow Japan to support friendly nations militarily. Beijing accused her of interfering in China’s domestic affairs and demanded that she retract her statement. Tokyo countered that the comments were consistent with long-standing policy.

Further friction emerged over the weekend when four armed Chinese Coast Guard vessels briefly entered waters administered by Japan near the disputed East China Sea islands — called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan — before withdrawing. China’s Coast Guard defended the move as legitimate “rights enforcement,” though such patrols routinely unsettle Tokyo.

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Rising Sino-Japanese tensions are a mild risk-off input for regional FX and equities, but the dispatch of a senior envoy may help contain escalation.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.