(MENAFN) China on Friday urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, along with its embassy and consulates in Japan, advised citizens to postpone trips to Japan in the near future, citing “multiple criminal offenses and incidents of attacks against Chinese nationals in Japan this year.” Chinese nationals already in Japan were also advised to “closely monitor the local public security situation, enhance safety awareness, and strengthen self-protection,” according to the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs, as reported by the state-run Global Times.

The advisory comes in response to recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan, which Beijing said have “severely undermined the atmosphere for China-Japan personnel exchanges.” Last week, Takaichi stated that any Chinese military action against Taiwan, including a naval blockade, could constitute a “survival-threatening situation,” enabling Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Takaichi, Japan’s first female premier, later clarified to lawmakers that her comments were made “under the assumption of a worst-case scenario” and denied any intention to retract them.

Earlier on Friday, China summoned Japan’s ambassador in Beijing in response to Takaichi’s remarks. Despite the tensions, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara emphasized that Tokyo remains committed to the 1972 joint communique, in which Japan recognized China and stated that it “fully understands and respects” Beijing’s position that Taiwan is an “inalienable part” of its territory. As of now, Tokyo has not formally responded to Beijing’s latest travel advisory.

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