During a phone call earlier this week with US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discussed resolving the conflict between Tokyo and Beijing following the Japanese prime minister’s comments on Taiwan and China’s strong reaction, Kyodo news agency reported.
According to the agency’s sources in the Japanese government, Takaichi and Trump discussed the possibility of working together to resolve the escalating diplomatic conflict between Tokyo and Beijing.
Takaichi herself previously told reporters that Trump had briefed her on the state of US-China relations and that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the phone. She did not mention, however, that has discussed the Japan-China conflict with the White House.
Tensions between Japan and China escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said during a parliamentary debate that a possible military crisis near Taiwan would pose an "existential threat" that could force Japan to exercise its "right of collective self-defense." This caused strong discontent in Beijing, which issued a stern warning to Tokyo. China's Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, threatened to "cut off the head" of the Japanese prime minister on his X-page, but the post was later deleted. The Chinese Foreign Ministry later warned its compatriots not to travel to Japan.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), withdrew to the island. after the loss of the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taipei has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China, which existed on the mainland before the communists came to power. According to Beijing's official position, supported by most countries, including Russia, it is one of the regions of the PRC.