By John Geddie and Laurie Chen
TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) -Japan on Monday complained to China about “extremely inappropriate” remarks by one of its diplomats about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, after she suggested Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked democratically-ruled Taiwan.
China’s Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian said on Saturday that “we have no choice but to cut off that dirty neck that has lunged at us without a moment’s hesitation. Are you ready?” His post on social media platform X included an article in the Asahi newspaper that referenced Takaichi’s remarks.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday that Xue had made “multiple inappropriate statements” and that Japan has repeatedly asked Beijing to take appropriate action.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass also weighed in on X, saying Xue’s comment threatened Takaichi and the Japanese people. “The mask slips – again,” he posted.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference on Monday that Xue’s post was a response to Takaichi’s “wrongful and dangerous” remarks on Taiwan, urging Tokyo to “take a hard look at its historical responsibilities”.
‘THREATENING JAPAN’S SURVIVAL’
Takaichi, a hardline conservative, told parliament on Friday that an attack on Taiwan, which China claims, could be deemed “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a legal term introduced in 2015 that allows Japan’s premiers to deploy the country’s Self-Defense Forces.
Until now, Japanese prime ministers have avoided mentioning Taiwan when publicly discussing scenarios that could trigger a military response.
The diplomatic spat comes less than a month after Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister and less than two weeks after she angered Beijing by posting a picture of a meeting with a Taiwanese representative at a regional summit in Seoul earlier this month.
She also met Chinese President Xi Jinping there, with both leaders agreeing to pursue constructive and stable ties.
One of her first acts as prime minister was to accelerate a defence buildup aimed at deterring Beijing’s military ambitions in East Asia.
On Monday, Takaichi said her remarks were “hypothetical” and that she would refrain from making similar comments in parliament again.
(Reporting by John Geddie, Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Laurie Chen and Antoni Slodkowski in Beijing; Editing by Neil Fullick and Saad Sayeed)
