China urges citizens to avoid visiting Japan after PM Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks

Travel Biz News —

BEIJING – China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday ( Nov.16) advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, citing security concerns.

In a statement published on its official website, the ministry cited the travel advisory issued by the Chinese foreign ministry, which referred to a deteriorating security environment for Chinese citizens in Japan as well as recent provocative remarks made by the Japanese leader regarding China’s Taiwan.

The statement advised Chinese tourists to avoid traveling to Japan at this time and recommended that those already in Japan closely monitor the local security situation, heighten safety awareness, strengthen self-protection, and promptly contact local police or the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan to seek assistance in case of emergency , Xinhua reports .

Similarly , KYODO News reports from Beijing – The Chinese government urged its citizens to avoid visiting Japan as recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Japan’s potential involvement in a Taiwan contingency grow into a wider diplomatic row.

China’s Foreign Ministry said provocative comments by Japan’s leader have caused “the atmosphere surrounding people-to-people exchanges to deteriorate severely, posing significant risks to the safety of Chinese people” in Japan.

It also claimed that Japan has become less safe this year, calling on Chinese people who live in Japan to “pay attention to the law and order situation” in the country and remain vigilant so as not to fall victim to crimes.

The travel alert, coming after a series of warnings to Japan from the Chinese government, appears to be part of Beijing’s effort to cast Tokyo as being responsible for heightening bilateral tensions because of its position toward China.

Takaichi told a parliamentary committee session last week that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could present a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, possibly leading it to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

China protested the remarks and demanded that the prime minister retract them. Japan, for its part, protested a social media post by a Chinese diplomat in Osaka made in response to her remarks, demanding that Beijing take appropriate action.

Chinese tourists make up a significant portion of foreign visitors to Japan. Between January and September of this year, around 31.65 million foreigners visited Japan, of whom roughly 7.49 million were from China, the most by country or region, according to government data.

In their first face-to-face meeting as leaders in South Korea late last month, Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to promote “strategic and mutually beneficial” ties between the two countries.

China views Taiwan, the democratically governed island across the strait, as a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Meanwhile , a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official arrived in China on Monday ( Nov. 17 )for a visit aimed at calming the intensifying diplomatic spat triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Japan’s potential response to a contingency in Taiwan.

In a meeting with the Chinese side, expected to be held on Tuesday, Masaaki Kanai, head of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will stress that Takaichi has not changed Japan’s stance as stated in a 1972 joint communique, Japanese government sources said.In the document, Tokyo recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, switching its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan.( Inputs from Xinhua/ Kyodo News )

17 Nov.2025

Photo : A view of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, China’s Taiwan region. /Xinhua