Fury in China Over Japan PM's Taiwan Comments

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7 that the use of force against self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims, could warrant a military response from Tokyo.

China, which has not ruled out using force to take Taiwan, has reacted furiously to Takaichi's comments, calling for her to retract the remarks and summoning the Japanese ambassador on Friday.

In a post on X on Nov. 8, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, threatened to "cut off that dirty neck," apparently referring to Takaichi, who took office in October.

Tokyo said it had summoned the Chinese ambassador over the now-deleted social media post.

Japan occupied Taiwan for decades until 1945, when it was defeated in World War II.

On Nov. 14, the Chinese embassy warned its citizens to avoid visiting Japan, citing "significant risks" to their safety. 

Condemnation has also raged online, with three of the top five trending topics on the social media platform Weibo related to the spat with Japan Monday morning.

Official media have also ramped up criticism of Takaichi.

An opinion piece in the ruling communist party's official newspaper, People's Daily, said: "Sanae Takaichi throwing around fallacious remarks about Taiwan is tantamount to reviving the specter of militarism.”

"This fully exposes the extremely wrong and dangerous historical... and strategic views of the right-wing forces in Japan," it read, calling it a "dangerous shift in Japan's strategic direction."

A commentary by state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday said "if Sanae Takaichi refuses to repent, Japan will be eternally doomed."