Japan has warned its citizens in China to take extra precautions and avoid crowded places amid a deepening row between Asia's two largest economies over comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, Reuters reported.
The advice was issued by the Japanese embassy in China as a senior Japanese foreign ministry official traveled to Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart in an effort to ease tensions.
China has urged its citizens not to travel to Japan, which could deal a significant blow to the Japanese economy, given that Chinese now make up nearly a quarter of all tourists there. Japan's tourism stocks have plummeted.
Takaichi sparked the most serious diplomatic row in years after telling Japanese lawmakers earlier this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan that threatened Japan's survival could trigger a military response - a scenario that previous administrations have avoided discussing publicly so as not to provoke Beijing, which has territorial claims to the self-ruled island.
A Chinese diplomat in Japan posted a threatening response aimed at Takaichi on social media. This drew sharp criticism from Tokyo, which, however, failed to stop the wave of scathing comments directed at the premier in Chinese state media.
"We made decisions based on a comprehensive consideration of the security situation in the country or region, as well as political and social conditions," Kihara said of the safety warning.
Noting the media coverage in China, the Japanese embassy there yesterday reminded citizens to respect local customs and be careful when interacting with Chinese people. It urged citizens to be aware of their surroundings when outside, advising them not to travel alone and urging extra caution when traveling with children.
"If you see a person or group that looks even slightly suspicious, do not approach them and leave the area immediately," the embassy urged.
Film distributors have halted screenings of at least two Japanese films in China amid the deepening dispute between Tokyo and Beijing, which Chinese state broadcaster CCTV described as a "reasonable decision" given the deteriorating mood among the public in the country.
Beijing claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan's government, however, rejects Beijing's claims and says only its people can decide the island's future.
Taiwan is located just over 110 km from Japan's westernmost islands and close to key sea lanes that Tokyo relies on for oil and gas supplies. Japan also hosts the largest concentration of US military power outside the United States.
On Sunday, a formation of Chinese coast guard ships sailed through waters around a group of islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but claimed by China. Known as the Senkaku in Tokyo and the Diaoyu in Beijing, they have been the subject of conflict since Japan nationalized them in 2012. The Japanese Coast Guard said it chased away the Chinese ships.
The United States does not officially recognize the islands as Japanese sovereign territory, but since 2014 it has said it would be obligated to defend them if the islands were attacked, under its security treaty with Japan.
"In case anyone is in any doubt, the United States is fully committed to the defense of Japan, which includes the Senkaku Islands. And the formations of Chinese coast guard ships will not change that," stressed US Ambassador to Japan George Glass.
This week's G20 summit in South Africa provided a potential forum for easing tensions, but China said its prime minister had no plans to meet with Takaichi on the sidelines.
Kihara noted that nothing had been decided about bilateral meetings at the G20, but that Japan remained open to holding "various dialogues" with China.