As Japan refuses to bow, China to continue hitting Takaichi with familiar campaign

Rattled by Prime Minister Takaichi’s remark on Taiwan, China has deepened the cold rift between the two nations by issuing an advisory against travelling to Japan. Some 200 people have already canceled their bookings for Rie Takeda’s tearoom to attend her tea ceremony class, ahead of January.  

“I just hope the Chinese tourists return by Chinese New Year," Takeda said, referring to the rift and holiday period in February. The Chinese government has been expressing its displeasure for Japan recently.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged China to drop nuclear bombs on Japan and has deployed an all-hands-on-deck approach to undermine Takaichi. Beijing is using its economic power to pressurise Tokyo. But how long the series of confrontations will exist and this war will be escalated.  

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An international relations professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Liu Jiangyong said, “China’s countermeasures are all kept secret and will be rolled out one by one,” as quoted by AP.  

Taiwan remark angered China

The campaign which China is hitting, is because of the statement of Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi soon after taking the charge, earlier this month said that its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its rule.

No signs of backing down 

The rift for Taiwan is long and historical, which led to the feud between the two and clearly shows no signs of backing down.  

“The diplomatic challenge for both sides is that they have their own domestic audiences and so they don’t want to be perceived as backing down,” said Sheila A. Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “Intimate Rivals,” a book on Japan-China relations.

Early fallout

The fallout between the two is not recent, but has historical roots. In 2012, protesters attacked Japanese businesses in China and boycotted their goods and services after a dispute erupted between the two.  

The tours to different countries have been cancelled, hitting businesses and trade. Gamagori Hotel in central Japan’s Aichi prefecture said it had lost more than 2,000 guests.  

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Nichu Syomu, a Japan-based tour company focusing on Chinese tourists, said, “300 bookings have been canceled, describing the loss as comparable to 2012."

One customer said that since China had taken a clear stance, he had to align with it. Another works at a government-owned company and said that staff had been instructed not to visit Japan in the near term.

China warns Japan

With the postponement of two Japanese movies in China, pressure intensified. A comedy festival in Shanghai canceled shows by a Japanese entertainment company. Japan has failed to provide the technical documentation needed to resume the exports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said when asked about the reports.

China, having a core hand in rare earths, can also target its exports which are cars and other industries.  

“Japan should first retract its erroneous remarks and take concrete actions to maintain the political foundation of China-Japan relations,” Mao said last week warning about the consequences that could lead because of these remarks.  

(With inputs from AP)